


mellifluous

by avalescence



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, College AU, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Just your typical gays going through unnecessary crises, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:27:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25408408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avalescence/pseuds/avalescence
Summary: mellifluous /məˈliflo͞oəs/—adjective; (of a voice or words) sweet or musical; pleasant to hear.College freshman Mingyu had always wondered what his new life in university would be like—he wasn't counting on someone like Wonwoo being a part of it. He was irritating, obnoxious, and too much for Mingyu to handle.But why couldn't Mingyu bring himself to stop thinking about him?—wherein Mingyu has ADHD and Wonwoo has anxiety, friends love to meddle, and young love is a pain in the butt.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu
Comments: 5
Kudos: 47





	1. how compliments can lead to fights

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this is my first seventeen fanfic, so i hope you forgive any mistakes i make in terms of characterization, esp with the mental health issues. i've been a long-time carat, and seeing [wonwoo in a crop top](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CWMFK7rqFU) along with the giant amount of meanie content we've been getting, i thought it was high time i wrote something for them :) it's also been a long time since i've written anything, but i still hope you enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mingyu swears he didnʼt mean to.
> 
> Wonwoo is trying to convince himself that he did.

Mingyu heaved a breath as he finished putting down the boxes in a pile by his bed. He wiped some sweat off his forehead from the effort, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he looked around at his new home for the school year.

Mingyu Kim, an incoming freshman at XX University, was currently in the process of moving into an apartment with his upperclassman, Soonyoung Kwon, who he met back in high school. Soonyoung’s old roommate had moved in with someone else, so he had posted an advert online looking for a new one, where Mingyu had stumbled across it. The place wasn’t too far from the campus that it made walking a bother, and the rent wasn’t that bad either.

He had talked to Soonyoung a few times, mostly during inter-grade events and competitions. He had a reputation for being exceedingly boisterous and abrasive, but his talent for dancing seemed to overlook all of that. It was the reason the university offered him a scholarship and a spot on the dance crew, after all.

“Hey, Mingyu! Sorry ‘bout being late, hope they gave you a key already.” Soonyoung’s bright voice echoed off the walls as he walked in the apartment. “The landlord met you when you arrived?” he asked, looking around at the boxes on the floor filled with Mingyu’s things.

Mingyu nodded. “Yes, hyung.” He dangled the keys for the property, showing it off. “I hope I didn’t disturb you from… whatever you were doing.”

The elder laughed, pulling Mingyu into a tight hug. “Nah, just some dance crew meeting,” he said breezily. “I told ‘em I had a freshman I needed to show around. They let me go, heh.”

“Sunbae, that’s not very—nnh, responsible of you,” Mingyu replied, trying to breathe in Soonyoung’s grip. Soonyoung let go of him, giving him a solid pat on the back. “I told you, hyung is fine. Actually, so is Soonyoung, but anyway.” He waved it off. “How do you like the place so far?”

Mingyu looked around the apartment. The space wasn’t very big, but since the floorplan was very open, it didn’t look too cramped. A small hallway led to the main room, where to the right was a small kitchen area with a breakfast bar and some stools, and a good number of appliances, like a kettle and a microwave. A small lounge was set up across from it to the left of the hallway, with a decently sized couch, a coffee table with a few books stacked on it (probably Soonyoung’s textbooks and not any proper coffee table books), and a fluffy rug that looked a bit discolored. (Mingyu refrained from asking why, but also made a mental note to wear socks inside the house.) A flatscreen TV was bolted to the wall across the couch, and a console table sat under it. A scattered mess of gaming consoles sat on top, all hooked up to the TV.

The bathroom was set behind the lounge, partially separating it from the “bedroom” part of the apartment. It was a small nook tucked away behind some wooden bars to act as a divider, with a big window that faced the sunset sitting in between two single-sized beds. There was storage in the bed frame itself under the mattress, and some shelves stuck out of the walls above them. Two desks were placed by the foot of the bed against the wall, most likely for schoolwork. One of the beds was clean and orderly, while the other was a right mess of sheets.

Beside the “bedroom” were two drawers, most likely for clothes, and a rack for clothes that were meant to be hung and not folded. A thin wall separated this area from the bedroom, and a curtain hung from a rod to provide privacy for anyone dressing inside.

Mingyu was positively ecstatic. “It looks great,” he exclaimed. “I take it the bed on the left is mine?”

Soonyoung nodded. “Yeah. Pardon the mess, I wasn’t able to clean up,” he said apologetically. “I promise I’m not actually this messy.” He plucked a pair of underwear on the floor with his toes, grabbing it quickly. “…Not all the time, anyway.” He shot Mingyu a lopsided smile before heading to the bathroom, picking up the clothes scattered on the floor on the way to toss in the hamper.

Mingyu chuckled. “Don’t worry, I can take care of the household chores for the both of us.” He sat down on the bed opposite Soonyoung’s. “You got my text about my condition, right?” he asked.

Soonyoung poked his head out of the bathroom. “Yeah, I did. I set alarms on my phone so I could remind you about your meds, and I took the liberty of writing it down and sticking it to the fridge.” He closed the door behind him as he stepped out. “To be honest, I didn’t expect it. You were a big honor student back in high school.”

The freshman tittered. “Yeah, it made itself known in senior year, what with all the college pressure,” he replied. “Anyway, it’s nothing to be concerned about. I have weekly appointments at the hospital for my sessions and my meds.”

Soonyoung looked over Mingyu, face unreadable. “If you need any help, Gyu…”

“I’ll be fine, su—hyung.”

Mingyu swallowed after a long silence. “I guess it’s time I unpack before orientation tomorrow.”

“Welcome to the Broadcasting department, freshmen!”

Jun practically shouted through the megaphone at the passing students, before Seungcheol tugged the megaphone away from his hands. “Are you trying to deafen them?” he said exasperatedly. “We’re trying to get them excited for college.”

Jun shot the third-year representative a glare before taking the megaphone back. “I know. I’m just… getting into the hype of things.”

Seungcheol raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Just don’t be so loud.”

Jun turned down the volume when Seungcheol looked away, mumbling something about him being right.

A bunch of collapsible tables were set up in the quad, with each department’s student reps manning the booths. Each booth came with a banner, sign-up sheets clamped to a clipboard, and a few pens scattered around to write with.

Wonwoo Jeon took a good look around as he stepped onto the brick path that wound around the area. His eyes flitted amongst the number of new faces he’d be seeing this year, trying to commit some of them to memory. No one really caught his eye. (Not like he was looking for someone to.)

He made his way to the Broadcasting department’s table, setting his bag down on one of the empty chairs at the booth. “Hey, sorry I’m late,” he said. “Elevator took a while to arrive on our floor.”

Jun turned around to look at him. “We live in the same dorm room,” he said flatly. “I tried to wake you up earlier, but you just went back to sleep.”

“You know me,” Wonwoo said with a shrug.

Seungcheol glanced back at him. “I’m assuming it’s the elevator and not the iced coffee in your hand that made you late?”

Wonwoo blushed, waving it off as he hid the coffee. He grabbed the clipboard with the list of freshmen off the table. “Has anyone registered for orientation yet?” he asked, flipping through the papers.

Seungcheol leaned on the table. “Just a few. There should be more by now—”

“BROADCASTING DEPARTMENT, OVER HERE!” Jun yelled into the megaphone.

A bunch of nearby students shot their booth a look as the perpetrator smiled at them weakly in response. “Sorry.”

Mingyu slung his backpack over his shoulders, looking down at the email his department had sent him a week prior. Orientation at XX University was done the weekend before classes started, and apparently it was fun, per Soonyoung’s confirmation. (“We had a breakdance battle in the dance room for introductions!” he said excitedly, before adding “Not sure what they’ll do for your department, though.”)

He walked down the winding road leading to the university from his apartment building, eyes drifting from the tarpaulin banners flapping in the strong, morning wind, to the crying baby being wheeled down the street in a stroller by its flustered mother.

He neared one of the side-entrances of the university, tapping his ID against the scanner as one of the campus security guards greeted him good morning. He took in the sight of his new home.

XX University was a fairly old university, having been around for nearly two centuries. The architecture of the buildings was definitely old, having been inspired by classical Roman styles with some postmodern elements thrown in. This is especially evident in the newer structures erected more recently, like the cafeteria and the power center that contained several stores, such as the bookstore and even a computer shop. The campus itself was big, with buildings scattered around dedicated to each college, and walkways connecting each to the main building that housed the offices and the central quadrangle.

The quadrangle was much akin to a park, with benches and stone tables spread out under large, looming trees. The main building of the university wrapped around the quad like a fence; it had a high ceiling and a much newer design to its façade compared to the other older buildings.

Mingyu’s favorite part of the campus was probably the library: an unassuming structure with a myriad of books and files inside, along with a beautiful study hall lined with windows looking out into the forest around the school. The bright natural light paired with the feeling that you were surrounded by years of knowledge just filled him with a sense of calm.

He followed the signs that led him to the main building, walking past several others and scenic outdoor sitting areas. He imagined himself studying there with a group of friends, laughing and having fun, being a normal kid. A small nervous sting struck his heart. _Would that be possible now…_

He entered the main building and stepped out onto the quad, watching new students like him mill around looking for their department’s booth. He made his way through the crowd, nearly towering over everyone due to his height. He tapped his hand on his thigh as he searched for the Broadcasting department’s booth amidst the several hundred that he could see.

“BROADCASTING DEPARTMENT, OVER HERE!”

A booming voice erupted from somewhere behind him, and he managed to catch sight of a man with a megaphone who was now the subject of everyone’s annoyance. Mingyu read the banner that hung on the table beside him—“BROADCASTING DEPARTMENT: SIGN UP HERE!”—and made his way over swiftly.

He took his place in line after a group of girls who were talking with another student, probably an upperclassman, that sat behind the booth. The other two students with him manning the booth, who according to their nametags, were Seungcheol Choi and Junhui Moon, were busy calling out to other freshmen.

As the girls left, they caught sight of Mingyu, who just smiled awkwardly and waved. The attention was a bit unnerving if he was being honest. He never knew what to do about girls. The girls looked at each other giddily before walking away and squealing. It always left him confused.

The student sitting behind the booth looked up at him, smiling kindly. “Hello,” he said, sliding Mingyu the sign-up sheet and a pen. “I’m Wonwoo Jeon, the second-year representative. Sign up here for the orientation, please.”

Mingyu was a bit stunned at just how handsome Wonwoo was. He had straight black hair that was long enough that it fell into his eyes. His cheeks went into his eyes when he smiled, and his smile was just so charming. It didn’t help that he was wearing a great outfit, either—a dark-washed denim jacket over a department shirt. It was plain but _damn,_ if he didn’t make it handsome.

Wonwoo tilted his head. “Hello? Are you alright?” he asked.

Blinking his eyes, Mingyu reddened. “Oh. Uh… sorry.” He took the clipboard and started writing down his name.

Wonwoo glanced at the girls who had gathered around the table, who were very pointedly staring at Mingyu and whispering. “Looks like you have a lot of admirers,” he mused, propping his chin up on his arm.

Mingyu laughed softly. “I’d hardly think so. You’re not as bad-looking as you think, maybe they’re here for you,” he replied, before inwardly smacking himself. _What are you doing flirting with him?!_

Wonwoo raised an eyebrow. “I refuse to accept that you don’t see how handsome you are,” he said incredulously. “You’re probably gonna be one of the resident heartthrobs of the freshman batch.”

Mingyu looked up at him. “You think so?”

Wonwoo snorted. “Don’t let it get to your head.” He took the clipboard back, taking note of Mingyu’s name. “Well, Mingyu Kim, the Broadcasting department’s orientation will be in Hall A, in the building just outside that exit. Here’s your name-tag,” he said as a matter-of-factly, handing him his name-tag from a box under the table. “See you later.”

Mingyu shot him a small smile. “Alright. Thanks.”

And with that, a faint impression of Wonwoo Jeon imprinted itself on Mingyu’s brain.

Mingyu grinned as the orientation ended, the seniors wishing their juniors a great year ahead and a happy stay in the university. He looked down at the department shirt in his hands, fingering the embroidered logo on the chest fondly.

Orientation was rather fun, if not for the boring speeches and explanations. There were a lot of games and snacks, and luckily Soonyoung had reminded Mingyu about his medication while there was a brief break. Mingyu was so caught up in the heat of the moment that he had forgotten.

“Hey, Mingyu! You wanna come with us?” Yeojun called out to him. He was with a group of other students, all chatting to each other. “We heard there’s a party some of the seniors are holding for us freshmen. Somewhere in the city,” he added. “At some place called Qbar.”

Mingyu hummed. “Let me just check in with my roommate,” he said, shooting Soonyoung a text.

**mingyu kim:** hyung, my friends are inviting me to party at qbar downtown

 **mingyu kim:** ill be home late so dont stay up

 **soonyoung kwon:** OHH no its fine!!! im going too lol

 **soonyoung kwon:** will meet u there gyu~ >30

Mingyu shot Yeojun a thumbs-up. “Let me just change out of the department shirt. I’ll follow you guys.”

Their small group headed into the city, walking along the sidewalks as the moon rose in the sky. Granted, it was a bit early to go out partying, but Mingyu was just glad he was invited to go somewhere.

One of the girls, Jiyoon, sidled up to Mingyu. “So, Mingyu-ssi,” she said lightly, “which school did you come from?” She smiled up at him. “You seem really smart, getting into XX.”

Yeojun nudged her. “I got in, too, does that mean I’m smart?”

She shot him a look.

Mingyu chuckled, slightly embarrassed. “I just came from one of the local high schools in Anyang. Nothing special.” He scratched his neck. “I’m thankful I passed the exam for XX University. It’s been one of my dream schools.”

Another girl, Eunjung, sniffed. “Isn’t it everybody’s?” she asked, unimpressed. Jiyoon shushed her. “Mingyu’s talking!”

Mingyu waved it off. “It’s alright, she can talk if she wants to.”

Eunjung harrumphed. “I’m done.”

Dohyun, another boy who came with them, pointed at a sleek building across the street from them. “I think that’s it.”

It was a very simple looking building from the front, with a few lights shining on its walls. A neon sign read “Qbar” that shone different colors every now and then. A few students hung around the entrance, all smoking in a designated area. Mingyu’s eyes darted from the smoke hanging in the air, to the flashing sign, to his new friends pulling him along across the street.

The bouncer guarding the front let them in once they flashed their ID’s. Immediately as soon as they entered, a loud booming noise came from overhead speakers and sweeping spotlights across the floor engulfed them in a multitude of colors. A DJ was playing music onstage at the back, and a pretty good amount of people were dancing in the middle. Some chose to hang around the edges of the room instead. 

Yeojun let out a loud whoop, spotting the bar along the far right. “Alright, free drinks! Come on, Eunjung-ah!” he shouted, pulling her away by the wrist as she yelped. Dohyun followed in his wake, talking about how he shouldn’t be dragging girls away. Eunjung glanced at Mingyu before leaving him behind.

Mingyu blinked as they disappeared in the crowd. So much for friends, then. He looked around, trying to look for Soonyoung instead. If he was there yet.

“Oh, Mingyu? You’re here too?”

Said boy turned around to meet Seungcheol, the third-year representative. “You caught word of the party, then?” He grinned.

“Ah, yes, Yeojun told me about it.” Mingyu bowed slightly. “I didn’t think you remembered me.”

“You were the guy that did that ridiculous dance earlier,” Seungcheol recalled, laughing slightly. “I think I would remember.” He looked behind Mingyu. “Where are they? Your friends?”

“They left me behind actually,” Mingyu said awkwardly, straining his neck to try and find where they were. “I’m waiting for my roommate.”

Seungcheol motioned for Mingyu to follow him. “Tell them you’re near the lounge. Come hang out with us for a bit.”

Mingyu nodded, not wanting to look disrespectful. He quickly texted Soonyoung about where he would find him as he followed his senior closely, weaving through the crowd.

“Who’s your roommate? Another freshman?” Seungcheol asked, trying to be heard above the music pounding in their ears. Mingyu pulled his attention away from the patterned lights moving across the ceiling to catch his question. “Oh, no, he’s a second-year. Um, Soonyoung Kwon?”

Seungcheol let out a snort. “Soonyoung? He’s your roommate?”

“You know him?”

“Know him? He’s a riot! Once, he was running late to class that he forgot to put on his shoes. Imagine running from your house without realizing you’re barefoot!”

Seungcheol led Mingyu to a table a bit farther from most of the action. It was by the side of the large room, where a couple of sitting areas were set up. There was a smaller bar on this end, but it made sense given that people would rather be dancing in a club than sitting.

“Look who I found,” Seungcheol announced to the members of his table. “New blood!”

Mingyu scanned the faces he saw sat around the table: he remembered Junhui, the overenthusiastic one, and Wonwoo, who he tried flirting with for reasons still unknown to him. There was one person he didn’t know, though.

Seungcheol slid into the seat beside the mystery man. “Jeonghan, this is Mingyu. Performed real great earlier, he’s good at dancing.”

The now named Jeonghan shook Mingyu’s hand as he sat beside Seungcheol. “Hi. I’m from the Economics department, but that’s all boring stuff. If ever you need something, you call me,” he said casually, winking at him.

Mingyu smiled a bit. “Sure, sunbae. I’ll do that.”

Junhui slapped a hand on Mingyu’s back. “Sunbae this, sunbae that! Hyung is fine. Or even our real names!” he insisted, shaking Mingyu rather forcefully. “Just call me Jun.”

Wonwoo sipped some beer from his bottle. “I’d rather you call me hyung,” he quipped. “No hard feelings.”

Mingyu remembered their earlier encounter and cringed inwardly. God, he had to be careful how he talked to others. “Don’t worry, I’m not into you.” Wait, shit.

A bunch of ooh’s escaped the group’s mouths except Wonwoo’s, who only raised his eyebrows at him. “Get dunked!” Jun hollered, eliciting raucous cheers from the other two.

Mingyu reddened. “I—I don’t mean it that way,” he said quickly, trying to make up for the slip in his word. “I mean, I like guys, but I don’t—I’m not interested—”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it,” Wonwoo said, not amused. He stood up suddenly. “I’ll be in the bathroom.”

As he left, Jeonghan shot Mingyu a pitiful look. “Don’t worry, he’s not really an open type of guy. Really sarcastic, right, Junnie?” he prompted, taking another shot of his soju-beer cocktail.

Jun rolled his eyes. “Tell me about it. Every day, I ask him. ‘Have you done the dishes?’ and he replies, ‘I dunno, have I?’ Like give me a straight answer!” he complained, pouting.

Seungcheol pointedly redirected their attention to Mingyu. “So, you like guys, huh?” he pressed, eyes shining mischievously.

“Uh, yeah,” Mingyu admitted shyly. “I didn’t realize until recently, so I haven’t had the chance to play the field. I heard college is a great time to try and find out who you are, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to.”

Jeonghan whistled lowly, eyeing him up and down. “Eh, you’ll get a boyfriend in no time,” he whined. “Someone with your looks.”

“Am I that handsome?” Mingyu asked, genuinely curious. “I never noticed. My friend from high school told me I grew taller over the summer, but—”

Jun slung an arm around him, gesturing with his other hand. “Look, you have great hair, a nice face, and you’re tall as hell. Also, you probably have a great body. You are, 100%, handsome.” He smiled as if he proved a point, leaning back in his seat.

“He’s not my type,” Wonwoo said airily as he returned to the table, sitting down beside Jun.

Jun turned to him. “Oh, you have a type now?”

Wonwoo punched him in the arm.

Mingyu felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and he pulled it out to check what it was.

**soonyoung kwon:** yooo mingyu where u at???

 **mingyu kim:** near the ba|

A sudden whoop erupted from behind Mingyu before he could finish his text. “Mingyu! There you are!” Soonyoung fumbled over to where their group sat, dragging along someone behind him. “Minghao, this is Mingyu! See, isn’t he such a cutie?” he cooed, pinching Mingyu’s cheeks.

Mingyu blinked, trying not to pull away from the way Soonyoung handled him. “Mmf, hyung—”

Minghao, the other boy Soonyoung was with, managed to pull Soonyoung off of Mingyu. “Sorry about that. He went a bit crazy during the pre-game,” he said apologetically. “Minghao Xu, I’m a freshman in the Dance department. Soonyoung told me he knew another freshman he’d be introducing me to, is that you?” he directed to Mingyu.

“Yeah, that’s me,” Mingyu replied. “Nice to meet you.” He smiled.

Soonyoung wrapped his arms around Mingyu’s neck, looking at his company. “Woah, you met Seungcheol too? Since when were you guys friends?”

Seungcheol took a shot of his soju, getting redder in the face. He grinned. “Have you been teaching Mingyu some moves? He danced amazing earlier!”

Mingyu hadn’t gotten up from his seat to look for his friends yet, rather, Soonyoung and Minghao joined them for drinks. Soonyoung got Mingyu a bottle of beer—“On me!”—while Minghao opted for some wine instead. Soonyoung kept drinking whatever they gave him, be it beer, soju, a cocktail, as long as he could drink it, he did.

At some point, Soonyoung had dragged Seungcheol and Jun out with him to dance, and the three of them were flailing their arms and doing whatever they could in their drunken state. Jeonghan was filming them the whole time. “Blackmail material,” he justified to Mingyu.

The whole time, Mingyu couldn’t get a read on Wonwoo. He would smile sometimes, or laugh, but something told him Wonwoo didn’t like him very much.

He slid into Jun’s chair as Jeonghan stood up to better film them, dragging Minghao along to help (“Tell the camera how you feel!”), clearing his throat. “I’m sorry for what I said earlier.”

Wonwoo sipped his beer, sparing him a second of a glance. “Saying what? I’m not your type?”

“No, I mean, saying I’m not into you.”

“So, you are into me?” Wonwoo asked, staring at him.

Mingyu shook his head. “That’s not what I meant,” he supplied, “I just—I didn’t mean to flirt, and to offend you.”

“I’m not offended,” Wonwoo rebutted. “What made you think I was?” He looked away, taking another drink of his beer.

Mingyu looked at him incredulously. “Seriously? You’ve been pretty hostile towards me all night,” he shot back. “Everything I do or say, you just have to say something about it.”

“Well, I’m sorry you took it so personally,” Wonwoo snapped, glaring at him. “And be careful who you’re talking to. I’m your senior.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“I said sorry.”

“Yeah, like that was sincere.”

“Did you want me to bow?”

Jeonghan skipped over. “Hey, what’s going on? You guys alright?” he asked, hearing the tussle from where he was. “No need to fight.”

Wonwoo shot Mingyu one last look before downing his bottle. He wiped his mouth, standing up. “I’m leaving,” he announced. “Tell Jun I’ll be heading home now. I’ll wait up for him.”

“But Wonwoo—” Jeonghan started, but the second-year had already left.

Mingyu sat back in his seat, running a hand through his hair frustratedly. “Asshole,” he mumbled.

It was nearly 2 am when Mingyu decided to drag Soonyoung out of the club. He already felt terrible, and with the alcohol giving him a headache, he was in a disagreeable mood.

Soonyoung did follow him when he asked to leave, and as if he hadn’t drunk at all, was sobered up the moment they stepped out of the premises.

“So, what’s got you frowning like a cat dunked in water?” he asked Mingyu, looking at him. “You took your meds on time, right?”

Mingyu rubbed his temples. “I did, hyung,” he sighed. “I had a fight with Wonwoo-hyung.”

“A fight?” Soonyoung asked, tilting his head. “About what? He’s usually quiet.”

Mingyu scoffed, shoving his hands in his pockets so he didn’t fidget with his shirt. “Yeah, right. He got all pissed when I tried apologizing for saying I’m not into him, then he pretended as if he _wasn’t_ offended, and—”

“Wait, hold up,” Soonyoung interrupted him, pausing on the sidewalk. “You’re into Wonwoo?”

“No!” Mingyu moaned in frustration. “I mean, maybe? I don’t know!”

“So… why did you tell him you weren’t into him?”

“Because he’s my senior and he didn’t seem to like me,” Mingyu said.

Soonyoung blinked. “Okay, you know what? Let’s go find a fried chicken place.”

“What? It’s 2 am, are there any open?” Mingyu asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Soonyoung said, as if it was obvious.

The elder led Mingyu to a nondescript building a few blocks away, and during the walk, Mingyu had told him what happened.

They entered the building, where a cashier and a lone server gave them a table. It was empty, since it was very early, but luckily the staff were accommodating enough.

“So, Wonwoo pretended not to be upset, and you called him out on it, and he just left?” Soonyoung said in between mouthfuls of chicken. “That doesn’t sound like him at all.”

“How would I know? I just met him today,” Mingyu whined. He sulked into his box of chicken, poking at it with his chopsticks. “What do I do? I don’t want him to be upset with me. I just lashed out, and I tried to control it, but I was annoyed…”

Soonyoung hummed thoughtfully as he chewed on his food. “Maybe he’ll forget? If you were both angry, and impulsive, he might be civil.”

“But I don’t want to just be civil,” Mingyu insisted. “I want to be okay with him. It’s gonna bother me if I have to try and remember to be nice after we fought. I wanna fix things with him.”

Soonyoung frowned. “But if he hates your guts it’s gonna be hard.”

“I know.” Mingyu huffed. “But I can’t stand being enemies with someone. Especially him…”

“Why? Do you like him?” Soonyoung teased, nudging Mingyu suggestively. “Your first day on campus and you already have a crush, and on a senior no less!” He laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

Mingyu blushed, shaking his head, but he didn’t know how to answer him properly.

Did he like Wonwoo? He wasn’t entirely sure how he felt… but it definitely wasn’t negative at all.

He ducked his head, groaning at the thought of Wonwoo occupying space in his already cluttered mind. How was he going to go to class like this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [my twitter](https://twitter.com/soonyeonie), which i'm not very active on, but maybe if this gains more attention, i'll dedicate that twitter to writing!
> 
> leave a kudos and comment! <3


	2. how being helpful can be destructive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mingyu accepts help, and ruins everything.
> 
> Wonwoo rejects help, and snaps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! i've been busy writing this the past week and i hope it's turned out alright. online classes are a pain in the butt, but at least i have solace in the form of writing this lol. enjoy!

Sunday came and went. It was a pretty uneventful day, save for his session at the hospital. Thankfully, Mingyu didn’t have a bad hangover, but he did wake up with a headache.

He was surprised to find Soonyoung’s bed empty and neatly made by the time he woke up, which was at around 10 am. A bag of pork buns sat on the table with a note attached. He picked it up and read it:

_hi gyu!! just went to the gym. i’ll be back around lunchtime. bought these for you at the bakery after my morning run. don’t forget to take your medicines!! also, the doctor called. he asked to call you back, so do that when you wake up. good luck!! – soonyoungie_

Knowing he had a caring roommate filled Mingyu with fondness. No wonder all Soonyoung’s lowerclassmen had a great impression of him.

Mingyu munched on a bun while trying to nurse his headache. He made a bad decision downing two more bottles of beer and some soju shots out of irritation from what happened the night before.

_Ugh, right. Wonwoo._

What did Mingyu think of Wonwoo? It was complicated. On one hand, he was really pissed and upset and the tiniest bit hurt that he would treat Mingyu like that, especially on their first encounter. Mingyu was generally a nice guy, and he made a lot of friends easily. He usually let most things slide. But that Wonwoo really struck a chord with him. _What an asshole._

But on the other hand, Mingyu was the slightest bit disappointed that Wonwoo wasn’t interested in him.

Perhaps it was the newly discovered part of himself—that he was, in fact, gay—that was pushing him to get to know him more. He only had one relationship his whole life, and it was with a girl his junior for a month in high school. It wasn’t that he loathed it, he just felt like he was forcing himself to like her. And it was then he realized he might not like girls at all because when he saw an attractive older man at the convenience store, he blushed so intensely he thought he had come down with a fever.

All the guys at his old school weren’t very top class, to say the least. Being with them for so long, it made him less likely to view them any differently than just friends. He didn’t have a lot of time to develop an “ideal type” or think of what values he wanted out of a partner.

Meeting Wonwoo was a big shock to his system. He had never seen someone so strikingly attractive in real life that he just stopped and stared. Sure, there were the idols he would see on TV sometimes when his sister was watching her music shows, but this was different. Up close, Wonwoo had a face you couldn’t stop staring at. So innately mesmerizing, as if he had somehow enchanted his face so anyone who looked at him were instantly enamored with him.

If Mingyu was being honest, his heart may have skipped a beat when they locked eyes at the booth yesterday. It might have been the first time he ever felt that way (meaningfully, anyway) towards a boy.

His stomach sank. He hated being confused about his feelings. He preferred clarity and consistency, and his feelings about Wonwoo were anything but.

He ate another bun, eyebrows knitted together. His thoughts started to jumble until he couldnʼt make sense of them. _Probably the headache,_ he thought.

He finished half the bag, leaving some for Soonyoung, before taking a shower. He had to stop thinking about Wonwoo’s face, or else he wouldn’t be able to.

Mingyu was up way too early the next day. He blamed it on his nerves. They always got bad before a big day: in this case, his first proper day of school.

His hands shook as he brushed his teeth, and he gripped the edge of the sink as he processed his emotions, just like the doctor told him to. He took a breath before letting go of the sink slowly, slightly relieved that his tremors had stopped.

He dressed simply for the first day: a plain shirt tucked into his jeans under an open polo. He had prepared his bag the night before, trying to ease his jumpiness. He checked and double-checked that he had his pens and his notebooks, making sure he had everything he needed for his first day.

Soonyoung had no morning classes on Monday, so he took it upon himself to prepare breakfast for the both of them. (And by “prepare breakfast”, he meant pick up a couple of sandwiches from the nearby store on his daily run.)

“Excited?” Soonyoung asked, pouring him a glass of orange juice. “First day of class! How’s your schedule looking?”

Mingyu absentmindedly hummed as he ate his sandwich. “It’s okay,” he mumbled. He tapped his foot on the floor restlessly.

Soonyoung clapped his hands, snapping his fingers under Mingyu’s nose to catch his attention. “Hey, earth to Gyu. You alright?” he asked. His face fell slightly, suddenly concerned. “Is it your…?”

Mingyu blinked, looking away embarrassedly. “Yeah, I… I can’t take my meds on an empty stomach. I’ll take them after I eat.”

“Well… hurry up and finish, then. Can’t have you distracted during your first day.” Soonyoung patted his arm comfortingly. “If you need anything, just call me, okay? I’ll rush right over.” He saluted Mingyu cheekily.

Mingyu mustered a small smile. “Thanks, hyung. I’ll be fine,” he reassured him, finishing the rest of his sandwich before standing to take his pill box from the breakfast bar. He swallowed his medicine, feeling the small tablet move down his throat.

Soonyoung checked the time. “You better start walking, or else you’ll be late.” He handed Mingyu his bag. “Have fun!”

So far, Mingyu’s day was going alright.

All his professors that morning was accommodating when he showed them his doctor’s note about his condition, as well as the notice from the school about it. He was secretly glad that they were being nice, because he was sure his teachers from his old school wouldn’t have been as forgiving. (They weren’t.)

He walked to his next class, checking his schedule every now and then to see if he was heading to the right building and the right room. He was getting fidgety, which he hated. He wished his meds just magically made his jumpiness go away.

As he entered the building and climbed up the stairs, he spotted a familiar figure standing out a classroom at the top of the steps. Mingyu felt dread settle in the pit of his stomach. Oh no.

He checked the room number quickly, hoping to God it wasn’t his classroom.

But, just his luck, it was.

Wonwoo Jeon was his classmate.

Mingyu let out a sigh. If this was a sign that he needed to apologize, it was a pretty shitty sign. But a sign nonetheless.

He took a deep breath before approaching Wonwoo slowly. “Um… Wonwoo-hyung—?” he started.

Wonwoo, without even looking at him, held up a hand. “I’m not talking to you,” he said immediately. “I’m not in the mood to discuss anything.”

The younger man looked at him dumbfoundedly. “I just wanted to apologize for what happened last Saturday.”

Wonwoo gave him a sideways glance, heaving a breath. “We all know what happened the last time you tried apologizing. Close your mouth before you mess up again.” The bell rang, and Wonwoo abruptly left, entering the classroom quickly to avoid any more conversation.

Mingyu, already peeved by Wonwoo’s absolute refusal to even hear him out, followed him swiftly. His eyes scanned the room for his upperclassman, walking over to where Wonwoo sat near the far wall to the front.

Wonwoo sighed, running a hand through his hair exasperatedly. “Are you gonna keep following me?” he retorted. “I told you, I don’t want to talk to you.”

Mingyu took the only spot beside him. “Why not? Are you that upset with me?” he demanded. “You left last night with no explanation, and now you’ve resorted to ignoring me?”

“Look, you are annoying me, and I don’t think you deserve my time,” Wonwoo replied snarkily. “You’re just a naïve freshman who doesn’t know any better. The last thing I want is someone as pushy and rude as you ruining my year. I’ve had enough of a rough start and I don’t need you adding to my problems,” he hissed, standing up and moving to another seat far away.

Mingyu was about to protest, but their professor walked in before he had a chance to. He inwardly cursed, wishing his stare could bore holes into Wonwoo’s skull.

_Goddamn it to hell, Wonwoo Jeon._

Mingyu was going to get him to talk to him if it was the last thing he did.

The second class ended, Mingyu shoved all his things in his bag rather messily and immediately tried to corner Wonwoo before he could leave.

Wonwoo groaned. “Can’t you take a hint?” he glowered, standing up. “You do realize you’re being very difficult right now?”

“Me being difficult? You’re the one who refuses to talk to me like a bratty kid!” Mingyu asserted, eyes narrowing at his senior. “I just want to talk things over because this unresolved conflict bothers me.”

“Boo hoo, I don’t adjust to you and your feelings,” Wonwoo said, slinging his bag over his shoulder before shoving Mingyu out of the way.

Mingyu followed him out the door and down the stairs. “Please, just hear me out,” he begged. “C’mon, you’re like, a whole year older than me. Aren’t you supposed to be more mature than this?”

Wonwoo stopped at the bottom of the stairs, turning to him and pinching the bridge of his nose. “You’re getting on my nerves. Back off before I do something we’ll both regret,” he said, so maddeningly calm that Mingyu was scared straight.

“You are a stubborn, one-track minded jerk,” Wonwoo started, this time with a menacing undertone, “and I have no interest in making up with you. So, stop. Trying. To talk to me.”

Wonwoo stomped away, and Mingyu made no move to follow him. The freshman grumbled under his breath, whipping his phone out as he headed back home.

**mingyu kim:** hyung can we go to some batting cages

 **mingyu kim:** i need to hit something

 **soonyoung kwon:** :00 what happened???

 **soonyoung kwon:** theres a place downtown i know, just meet me outside the north exit

 **soonyoung kwon:** do u want me to bring a friend??

 **mingyu kim:** sure

A loud clang echoed against the iron bars of the batting cage. It was Mingyu’s fourth round inside, and so far, he’d hit nearly all the baseballs that were shot his way. To be fair he did play a bit of the sport in high school, but he thought it was because he was so pissed.

Jun sat on the bench outside the cage with Soonyoung. “So, do you know why he’s so angry?” he mumbled, grabbing some fries as he waited for his turn. “I mean, I don’t know him that well, but I wouldn’t wanna be in front of that bat, if you know what I mean.”

Soonyoung nodded. “Yeah, I get that.” He exhaled. “I think he’s still stressed about that fight he had with Wonwoo last Saturday.”

“Still?” Jun asked, surprised. “Wonwoo hasn’t said anything about it. I got home that night—and I didn’t really remember anything, but I didn’t even know they fought until Jeonghan told me the morning after.”

“Mingyu tried talking to him, but he’s been kind of a dick.” Soonyoung huffed. “Poor kid.”

Jun watched Mingyu hit another home run in the batting cage. “You know how Wonwoo can get.”

“Yeah, but he should be kinder to a junior, of all people,” Soonyoung said in Mingyu’s defense.

The batting cage opened, and Mingyu stepped out. He wiped his forehead of sweat, panting slightly. “Soonyoung-hyung, your turn,” he heaved, handing him the bat.

Soonyoung shot him a grin. “Alright! Tiger Soonyoung up to bat!” he hollered as he jumped into the cage.

Jun cleared his throat. “So, uh, it’s none of my business,” he began, “but I heard you and Wonwoo had a bit of a fight.”

Mingyu sat down beside Jun, slumping slightly. “Did Soonyoung-hyung tell you?” he said miserably. “It was a stupid fucking fight. I don’t have a lot of control over my emotions, so I guess I was too harsh.”

“Yeah, Wonwoo doesn’t do well with hostility,” Jun said. “He also harbors a heck of a grudge.”

“Fuck me, then,” Mingyu sighed.

Jun turned to him. “Look, Wonwoo’s a great guy. He just has a bit of a sting, y’know. It’s tough to get him to open up to you or to even get on his good side. Trust me, it took me a year. But I digress.”

Mingyu looked at him. “I just want to clear the air, you know? We started out on the wrong foot and it bothers me. He said it doesn’t bother him—”

“Trust me, it does,” Jun cut in.

“—but I can’t help it. I mean, he’s older than me, for God’s sake. And the second-year rep! Shouldn’t he be more willing to hear me out or something?”

Jun shrugged. “He does his job well enough, but he’s not as competent when it comes to personal emotions. I’m thinking he’s being an ass to you because he wants to avoid talking about conflict. It’s a thing he hates.”

Mingyu scratched his neck. “No one likes conflict. Doesn’t do you any good running away from it.”

“Ha, tell that to him.” Jun chuckled slightly. “The amount of times I forced him to confront his problems head-on…” He shook his head. “He’s hard-headed, that’s for sure.”

Mingyu frowned, watching Soonyoung miss a ball and get hit in the thigh. “How do I get him to come to his senses and be a reasonable adult?” he lamented, burying his face in his hands.

Jun tilted his head. “Maybe I can help. Knowing Wonwoo, he’s probably secretly marinating in his thoughts like you. And one day it’s gonna come rushing out and it’ll be really bad for him. We can’t have that.”

Mingyu shot him a look.

“Oh, and uh, your thing about the conflict,” he followed up quickly.

Their heads swiveled to the cage as Soonyoung yowled, a baseball getting him in the stomach.

“Help… please…” he said weakly, collapsing on the floor.

Mingyu jogged to the cafeteria on the ground floor of the liberal arts building, checking his phone for updates from either Soonyoung or Jun.

After their excursion to the batting cages a week ago, Jun kindly helped Mingyu devise a plan to get Wonwoo to talk to him. He and Jun regularly had lunch at the liberal arts building’s cafeteria, since their class before lunch break was held there. It had become routine for them since becoming dorm-mates last year.

Since last week, Mingyu had tried and failed to talk to Wonwoo. He made it a habit to go to the only shared class they had as late as he could, and to leave as early as he could. Every time Mingyu would pass by him on the way to the Broadcasting department’s student space, Wonwoo would pretend no one was there. Even if the two of them were alone, Wonwoo had earphones plugged in and was focused only on his studies. Any attempt Mingyu made was futile. So, Jun took it upon himself to help. Mingyu had been messaging him about any development that he tried to make with regards to his apology to Wonwoo, and Jun thought up a plan.

Mingyu felt his phone ring, and he swiped the screen quickly. “Soonyoung-hyung? Where are you?” he asked, a little out of breath.

“Nearby. Remember what he talked about?” Soonyoung reminded him, his voice staticky over the phone signal.

Mingyu nodded out of habit, even if his roommate couldn’t see him. “Yeah. I’m ready.”

“Ugh, Professor Lee sucks,” Jun griped. “Giving us a twenty-page reading and expecting us to write a five-page essay? It’s not even due next week!” He cracked his neck, huffing.

Wonwoo shrugged. “He’s old.”

“That’s not a good reason.” Jun frowned. “Don’t you hate him too?”

“Yeah, but I’ll still do the assignment,” Wonwoo said, amused. “And you should, too. Start reading after lunch.”

The pair entered the fairly full cafeteria. The one in the liberal arts building was pretty old, but still serviceable. It had a lot more windows than the rest, and was much more open, which Wonwoo really liked. There was an outdoor terrace, and that was where they tended to eat. It was normally windy, too, and just the right amount. Pleasant enough that it was cool on your skin, but not too wild that it would mean your papers and files would fly away.

Jun took his seat outside on a four-seater, suddenly clapping as if he just remembered something. “Oh, by the way, I have friends joining us,” he said. “Is that fine?”

“Do I know them?”

“Uh, yeah, kinda.”

“Mm. Fine. But I’ll be minding my own business,” Wonwoo decided. “Same order?”

Jun nodded, shooting him a bright smile. “Chicken katsu please. And a cola.”

Wonwoo gave him a thumbs-up, heading back inside to fall in line at the counter. As soon as he left, Jun tapped out a text to Soonyoung and Mingyu.

**junhui moon:** He just left, hurry up and get over here before he comes back

 **junhui moon:** Right by the outside exit. easy 2 spot me

Mingyu stood up from one of the benches along the hall leading to the cafeteria, stepping inside and making sure to stay out of Wonwoo’s sight. He snuck along the edges to the doors leading to the terrace, arriving to see Soonyoung slide into the seat across Jun.

“Hey,” Mingyu greeted them, sitting beside Soonyoung. “You sure this will work?” he directed to Jun, who didn’t look very confident.

Jun bit his lip. “To be honest, no,” he said truthfully. “Wonwoo is a bit hard to gauge, but I think this is enough to get him to at least acknowledge your presence. I mean, with the two of us here—” he gestured between himself and Soonyoung “—he can’t just ignore you.”

Mingyu tapped his fingers on the table restlessly, eyes glued to the doorways leading inside. “Maybe this was a bad idea,” he blurted out. “Isn’t this just gonna make him hate me more?”

Soonyoung and Jun both looked at each other. “Uh… probably?” Soonyoung said, unsure. “I mean, maybe he’ll be impressed by your determination and fighting spirit for once. I know I would be.”

“But you’re not Wonwoo-hyung,” Mingyu mumbled, letting out a groan as he shook his leg under the table. “It’s my second week of school and I already have an enemy.”

Jun cleared his throat. “Well, technically, you guys were enemies since before you started school.”

Mingyu shot him a death glare. “Great. Thanks for reminding me, hyung. That was really helpful,” he replied sarcastically, returning to look back at the exit for any sign of the second-year rep.

To his surprise, he was already staring at him.

Wonwoo carried the tray cautiously, checking his step every now and then. He wondered which friends Jun had brought. He had a lot of acquaintances from other departments, and usually, Wonwoo would just settle for doing schoolwork as they chatted. It gave him more time to play games on his PC back at the dorm after school.

As he stepped out on the terrace, looking for Jun, his eyes found someone else’s almost immediately.

He was staring at Mingyu’s face. He couldn’t tell what emotions he was going through: maybe panic, maybe alarm.

Wonwoo’s eyes scanned the rest of the table. He looked at Soonyoung, then Jun, in turn.

He gripped the tray tighter. _The fucking nerve._ He tried to keep the tray level despite the tremor settling in his hands.

His face contorted, switching between bewilderment, confusion, and anger. He stalked over, setting the tray of food down unceremoniously before he snapped. “What’s _he_ doing here?” he spat at Jun, voice dripping with venom. He stabbed a finger at Mingyu. “I told you to stop asking me and to leave it alone, Jun.”

Jun stood, apologetic. “Wonwoo, c’mon, we both know this is bothering you. I told you, over and over, that you have got to let these things out—” he tried explaining.

Wonwoo wiped a hand over his face exasperatedly, eyes shut. “Can you stop meddling? Just once? I fucking hate it when you meddle.” His nostrils flared angrily. “I just wanted one normal day without having to deal with this jackass and you actually bring him over to me? Do you know how annoying that is?”

Mingyu stood up too, his chair toppling over from the sudden movement. His irritation and frustration threatened to boil over. “Hey, he was just trying to help me!” he insisted. “You were being unreasonable and a complete child. Why can’t you just talk to me?!” He stared Wonwoo straight in the eyes. “Are you that proud that you can’t even say sorry?”

Soonyoung tried to pull Mingyu down into his seat, tugging him down by his shirt. “Mingyu, Wonwoo, why don’t we sit down and discuss this civilly?” he suggested, eyes flitting between the both of them. But they showed no signs of backing down.

Wonwoo shook his head, disregarding Soonyoung’s words completely. He scoffed. “Say sorry? Me, say sorry?” he repeated in disbelief. “You wanna know something, Mingyu Kim? You really want me to be honest with you?” He narrowed his eyes, trying not to cry. “I will never, ever, ever want to talk to you or—or even be around you. So, understand every single damn word in that sentence before I lose it!” Wonwoo yelled.

An unpleasant silence fell over the group, save for Wonwoo’s breathing growing shallow as he realized his lip started quivering. He stepped back, throat bobbing as he swallowed. “…I’m leaving. D-Don’t follow me. Any of you. I’ve had enough for today.”

He grabbed his bag, nearly running away from the three boys still trying to process the whole thing.

Jun swore, quickly slinging his bag onto his shoulders. “I have to go. He’s—oh shit, I screwed up—” He fumbled slightly, bowing to Soonyoung and Mingyu. “You can have the food. Sorry for the bother.” He ran after Wonwoo, leaving the both of them shell-shocked.

Soonyoung coughed. “Well… let’s eat?” he said, rubbing his forearm. “Jun said so.”

Mingyu gritted his teeth, hands curling into fists. “… Fine.”

That evening, Mingyu sat on the couch flipping through one of his required readings. He couldn’t help but dwell on what happened earlier that day. If Wonwoo didn’t have much of a reason to hate him before, he sure did now.

Soonyoung sat down beside him, handing him a mug of hot chocolate. “Here. You looked like you needed something,” he explained, tilting his head. “Still thinking about earlier?”

Mingyu accepted the cup gratefully, wrapping his fingers around the mug for warmth. “Yeah… I feel like a dick.” He sipped the drink, sighing as he felt the heat travel down his throat. “I didn’t mean to… y’know…”

“Yeah, I know. None of us knew it was going to go down that way,” Soonyoung agreed, leaning back and humming thoughtfully. “I knew Wonwoo had an aversion to his problems, but this was the first time I saw him react that way. I wonder if Jun was able to catch him.”

Mingyu set his reading down on the coffee table, as well as the mug. He rubbed his eyes. “I don’t know what to do, hyung.”

“For one, stop shouting at people,” Soonyoung offered. “Didn’t the doctor tell you to better handle your emotions?”

Groaning, Mingyu sat up huffily. “I know. Don’t you think I’m trying?” he defended himself. “I still have a hard time but Wonwoo-hyung was treating Jun horribly—”

Soonyoung held a hand up to stop him. “That’s their own issue. You didn’t have to butt in.”

“But he was practically shouting at him!”

“So were you,” Soonyoung pointed out. “His emotions were peaking, and you were out here trying to start a fight with him too.”

Mingyu exhaled. “…I really fucked up, huh?”

Soonyoung nodded. “Mhm. Big-time.”

“But what else can I do? It’s not like he’ll just let me say sorry easily. This time it was a really big thing compared to last time!” Mingyu lamented, staring up at the flat-white ceiling. “He said he never wanted to talk to me. It’s going to be damn hard trying to apologize if he won’t even look at me.”

They both sat in silence, none of them willing to say anything. The truth was they didn’t know what to do now.

Mingyu mulled over the possibilities, but they all involved some form of civility that Wonwoo certainly wasn’t going to allow. _Of all the people in the world, I had to start a fight with this guy._

“Hyung, I think I’m going to bed,” Mingyu said after a while. “I can’t focus on the reading like this.” He grabbed the paper off the table, along with the mug. “Thanks for the drink.” He started walking over to his bed.

Soonyoung looked after him, still worried. “Alright. What subject is that for, anyway?”

Mingyu shrugged, setting the papers down on his desk as he prepared his things for the next day of class. “Communication and Media Theory. Why?”

Soonyoung blinked. “BA1-CMT?”

Mingyu looked down at his papers, looking for the course code. “Uh, yeah… How’d you know?”

Soonyoung rushed over quickly. “How’s your understanding of the subject? On a scale of 1-10?” he continued.

“Maybe an 8? The readings are hard but I’ve written notes for the essentials—”

“Can you tutor someone?” Soonyoung interrupted him, putting his hands on Mingyu’s shoulders. A smile graced his face.

Mingyu was getting a bit scared now. “Yes…? Why, who am I tutoring? Do you know anyone who needs it?” he asked cautiously.

Soonyoung grinned at him conspiratorially. “Mingyu, I think we have one more chance to get Wonwoo to talk to you,” he declared.

Mingyu’s eyes widened. “What? Really? What is it?”

“You’re going to tutor him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [my twitter](https://twitter.com/soonyeonie)  
> leave a kudos and a comment! :)


	3. how waking up late helps make amends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mingyu thinks he got stood up.
> 
> Wonwoo should really invest in a better alarm clock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long! school caught up with me and i wasn't able to write for a while. i pumped this out just in time to focus on my upcoming exams (i have three of them and they're all computation-based :") ), so i hope this keeps you guys fed for another week or whenever i manage to finish the next chapter. enjoy! <3

Mingyu blinked at his roommate. “Tutor him? What do you mean?”

Soonyoung rubbed his hands together, shaking his head. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of this earlier. Jun mentioned back at the batting cages how Wonwoo was having a hard time with one of his subjects. He didn’t take it a few terms ago because he had it switched for another one. He’s taking it now, and wouldn’t you know it?” He smiled at Mingyu, eyes shining. “It’s the same one you were doing readings for.”

Mingyu scratched his neck. “Even if I did tutor him,” he ventured, “he probably doesn’t want to have anything to do with me. Today was _horrible._ What would make him agree to spending one-on-one time with me?”

“Listen, Wonwoo is the second-year representative. He needs good grades to keep his position. And, if you didn’t notice,” Soonyoung reminded him, “he’s pretty good at his job. Even the professors like him and they would hate for him to lose that post because he failed a subject.”

“He’s that bad at it?” Mingyu asked in disbelief.

Soonyoung shrugged. “Bad enough that he’s getting frustrated. Jun told me he’s heard his fair share of groaning every night. Apparently Wonwoo has some difficulty focusing on a task for a long period of time.”

“Same,” Mingyu commented.

“Jun has to help him out sometimes, which is alright, since they have most classes together. Except CMT,” Soonyoung explained, plopping down on his bed. “I’ll text Jun tomorrow. See if we can arrange a meeting with Wonwoo. But, uh, without you,” he said. “You understand, right?”

Mingyu nodded despite himself, putting his papers in his bag. “Yeah, I do. You going to bed?”

“No, just sat down. I’ll play a few more rounds of Valorant before bed,” Soonyoung hummed, grinning. “I got a pretty alright grade on the choreography I made this week, so I’m rewarding myself.”

Raising an eyebrow, Mingyu sat down on his own bed. “But didn’t you have readings for Dance History? You told me earlier,” he recalled, sliding his slippers off his feet, and sitting cross-legged. He grabbed a pillow and hugged it close to his chest.

Soonyoung waved it off, leaning back on his hands. “I can do those tomorrow. Besides, the insight paper for them is due next week. I can finish reading tomorrow and write the paper on the weekend,” he said lightly. “You, on the other hand, should get some rest.”

Mingyu smiled softly. “I will. Thanks for trying so hard for me, hyung. I appreciate it,” he said gratefully, lying down as he did. He threw the blanket over himself, turning to face the wall.

Soonyoung stood up with a grunt, sliding into his desk chair and turning on his PC. “You’re welcome, Gyu. Just doing my job,” he replied, putting his headphones on. “Oh, how I’ve missed you, Valorant. How I’ve missed you.”

Jun crossed his legs, sipping his latte at Milk-bun Café, one of the popular establishments in the power center. Its busy hours were in the morning, lunch time, and in the late afternoon, since most people tended to eat lunch or study there. Jun liked it especially because they sold the best melon shortcake around, and it quickly became his favorite treat. If he had spare money, he would usually end up buying a slice.

He had received Soonyoung’s text about his plan to get Wonwoo and Mingyu back on good terms, and they had agreed to meet up at the café. He felt unresolved about what happened a week ago, and he knew Wonwoo did too.

Wonwoo was unfortunately quite good at hiding his feelings, and at masking emotions. Luckily, Jun had caught up to him before his attack could get any worse, but that night it was as if nothing had happened again. It irked him that Wonwoo would just let it go and pretend like he didn’t almost have a breakdown, but despite his numerous reminders and gentle persuasions, his roommate refused to budge.

The amount of times Wonwoo had bottled everything he felt couldn’t be counted on Jun’s fingers anymore. Jun had become highly concerned, but with how Wonwoo handled himself, he was always at a loss for how to better convince him to talk to someone. And it was getting difficult to gauge Wonwoo’s real feelings because he started dodging Jun’s questions and coming up with multiple excuses to get out of talking to him about them.

Wonwoo had stopped seeing his psychiatrist a few months ago amidst his parents’ arguments, reasoning out that being appointed second-year representative and having to attend meetings on the weekends meant he wasn’t going to be able to go regularly. Jun knew it just bothered him talking about his feelings to his doctor—and, well, to anyone at all.

Thankfully Wonwoo still took his medications, but without consultation and proper sessions with his psychiatrist, Jun found his mental stability deteriorating. To make matters, worse, Wonwoo had a bad habit of associating okay-ness with how good he could do without going to therapy. Even if to him, not going meant he was doing fine, it was actually a bad sign that he wasn’t fine in the slightest.

Jun sometimes wanted to smack some sense into Wonwoo’s poor head.

Wonwoo had agreed to meet Jun at the café after their department’s faculty meeting with their student representatives, which could sometimes go on for two hours or more depending on the subject matter at hand. That afternoon, it was about managing the first-years for their departmental meeting later that month. They needed volunteers to help with ushering them and answering questions.

Jun set his mug down, highlighting different passages on his textbook and taking down notes as well. He prided himself on his pristine notetaking, and he was so proud that he started managing a study account on Instagram.

He was a bit nervous about whether or not Wonwoo would bail on him upon seeing Soonyoung, but his strong aversion to Mingyu probably trumped his growing negative feelings for the dance major.

The bells hanging above the door chimed as someone entered the café, and Jun looked up from his notes to see who.

Soonyoung, still dressed in his athletic attire for choreography class, was bumbling along towards him, his gym bag slung on one shoulder. He was still out of breath since he probably ran all the way from the dance rooms, located about half a kilometer away.

“Hey, is Wonwoo here yet?” he asked, panting slightly as he sat down clumsily in the seat across Jun’s. “I thought I’d be late. Class ran a bit too long.”

Jun shook his head. “Nah, he’s still in his meeting. He’ll probably be out in around thirty minutes or so,” he said, helping Soonyoung arrange his things. “You didn’t have to hurry.”

“Yeah, but,” he breathed, still panting, “I wanted to do better since he maybe doesn’t like me so much anymore.”

Jun sighed, setting his pen down. “Wonwoo’s a nice guy. He just… feels things really intensely,” he said carefully. “He just needs to face this problem directly or else he’ll never move on and it’ll be bad for both him and Mingyu.”

Soonyoung jerked his head in a quick nod, grabbing his wallet from his jacket pocket. “Let me just buy some water,” he said, standing and lining up at the counter.

Jun tapped his fingers on the table, opening up the Messages app on his phone and selecting his and Wonwoo’s text thread.

**jun:** hey, u out yet? got us a table at milk bunnn

**jun:** im getting bored ><

**wonwoo:** yh ik, hold on the elevators slow

**wonwoo:** heading there now

**wonwoo:** did u buy me my usual

**jun:** yeah ur strawberry smoothie, cmon hurry its gonna melt

**wonwoo:** do i owe u

**jun:** yeahhh

**wonwoo:** ok pay u back next week

**jun:** thats the 3rd time this week -_-

**wonwoo:** shhhh i’ll pay u back, promiseeeee

Jun set his phone down with a small smile, watching the door for Wonwoo. He really hoped he’d at least try to talk to Soonyoung. He really did care for his roommate, but damn, was it difficult to.

Soonyoung returned with a bottle of water, sitting down on his seat and exhaling softly. “Did he text you yet?”

“Yeah, just now actually,” Jun informed him. “Should be here soon.”

A few minutes passed, and the door chimed again as it swung open. Wonwoo entered, his messenger bag slung across his body, while scanning the room for Jun. His eyes met Jun’s, and he almost smiled if it wasn’t for the small grimace he made when he noticed Soonyoung sat at the table. He stopped in his tracks, as if he wanted to run away, but Jun inwardly shed a tear as Wonwoo walked over to where they sat.

“Soonyoung,” Wonwoo said flatly. “You’re… here.”

“We have to talk,” Jun cut in before Wonwoo could say any more. “Soonyoung has a proposition.”

Wonwoo slid into the seat beside Jun’s, setting his bag down on the floor. He took a breath before meeting their eyes. “Fine. What is it?”

“You’re having trouble in CMT, right?” Soonyoung asked, propping his elbows on the table. He leaned on the table. “Jun told me.”

Wonwoo shot Jun a sideways glance. “Of course he did,” he said dryly.

“Hey, you complain about it all the time,” Jun said defensively. “Not my fault I happened to mention it…”

Wonwoo sighed, looking back at Soonyoung. “Okay, yes, I’m having trouble in CMT. I have difficulty with readings sometimes,” he admitted. “I’m just lagging a bit behind, but I can catch up.”

Jun clicked his tongue. “You haven’t even started the readings for the second week yet, and it’s nearly the fourth,” he said. “And you have that essay due for next week about it.”

Wonwoo glared at him. “Gee, thanks for bringing that up.”

Soonyoung’s lips curled into a small smile. “So, you need a tutor, right?” he suggested. “Someone to help you understand the readings?”

Wonwoo paused, looking between Jun and Soonyoung suspiciously. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“What? You need a good grade to keep your position, right?” Soonyoung continued, leaning closer. “Or else you lose it. And you do like being the second-year rep, unless I’m wrong and you actually don’t.”

Frowning, Wonwoo sat back in his seat. “I really don’t like where this is going.”

Soonyoung put his hands together. “What I told you Mingyu is a fantastic tutor and is proficient enough at CMT to help you?” he said quickly. “And he’s also willing.”

“Of course he is,” Wonwoo said miserably.

Jun grabbed Wonwoo’s arm, eyes pleading. “C’mon, Wonwoo, please. Give him a chance. It’s good for you, too,” he half-begged. “In more ways than one,” he added pointedly.

Wonwoo heaved a sigh, slumping over the table as he pondered the thought. “…Let me think about it,” he mumbled. “I’m still not over what happened. And I… I’m not ready to face Mingyu,” he said, so quiet that Jun and Soonyoung almost didn’t catch it.

Soonyoung’s mouth quirked into a small, excited smile. “So you’ll take him up on his offer?” he asked.

“I didn’t say definitively,” Wonwoo reiterated, narrowing his eyes. “Just… that I would consider.”

Jun leaned back in his seat, relieved. “Thank God.”

Wonwoo punched his shoulder. “Asshole.”

Mingyu sat at his desk, tapping his foot on the floor as he rewrote his notes. It was therapeutic for him, in a sense, to organize his scribbled notes after class. It was also a good way to review his new lessons and to understand them better. His laptop was in front of him, with his professor’s PowerPoint file open on the screen. He would occasionally move to the next slide after copying it down onto his notebook.

He heard the jangling of keys, and he knew Soonyoung had come back from his meeting with Jun and Wonwoo. Mingyu had gone straight home after his last class a few hours ago.

A small nervous ball settled in the pit of his stomach since Jun had agreed on meeting Soonyoung even after the whole mess. It was one of the reasons Mingyu had started yawning during his morning classes. It was a shame he couldn’t drink coffee—he’d end up a bigger bundle of nerves than without it.

The door opened, almost slamming against the door as Soonyoung rushed inside. He dropped his bag on the floor by the couch, nearly tripping as he ran over to Mingyu. “GUESS WHO AGREED TO THE TUTORING!” he cheered, doing a little dance.

Mingyu, amidst his shock and the loudness of his roommate’s voice, had some trouble processing what he said. “Wh—Hyung, don’t be so loud,” he got out.

Soonyoung shook him by the shoulders. “Wonwoo’s gonna give you a chance!” he said again, grinning widely. “Aren’t you happy?”

Mingyu’s eyes widened. “Really? He’s not upset?”

“Well he still is,” Soonyoung said, “but he’s considering having you tutor him.”

“Consider? But I thought he agreed,” Mingyu replied, confused.

Soonyoung’s grin turned sheepish. “Er, well… He said he’d consider,” he said. “I just thought you’d like it better if I said he accepted.”

The younger male groaned, throwing his head back. “Hyuuuung,” he whined. “Don’t do that. I thought I would finally be able to make it up to him.” Mingyu rubbed his eyes. “God, I feel like I just lost ten years off my life from how bad my heart hurts.”

“Sorry,” Soonyoung apologized, patting his shoulder. “But if it makes you feel any better, he didn’t seem as hostile as before. And he seemed unsettled by the whole thing too. So maybe what you said got to him.”

Mingyu peeked out from behind his hands. “You’re sure?” he asked skeptically. “I mean… He might just be pretending until after you left.”

“Nah, Jun seemed to think so too. And no one knows Wonwoo better than Jun,” Soonyoung said as a matter-of-factly. “He might be ready to forgive you.”

“Let’s hope so,” Mingyu said hopefully. “Did you bring back dinner? I texted you about not having anything to cook anymore.”

Soonyoung’s face fell. “Oh. I… My phone ran out of battery.”

Mingyu stared at him.

“Alright, let me just change. Let’s go out for chicken.”

Wonwoo jotted down more notes on a pad of sticky notes, sticking said note to one of the pages of his notebook. It was around 8 pm, and he and Jun were still sat in Milk-bun talking about their midterm output.

“So, what kind of design do you want for the presentation?” Jun asked, fiddling around with different themes on PowerPoint. “Bright? Dark? Sharp?”

Wonwoo looked up at him. “Uh… Something with yellow,” he said, twirling his pen between his fingers. “And with some nice, like, torn paper accents? Like a bu-jo aesthetic. Or is that too much?”

Jun shook his head, already bringing up his folder of vectors to tinker with on Photoshop. “Nope, I think it’ll be fine.” A long silence settled between the two of them before Jun spoke up again. “So, been thinking about the tutoring offer?”

A small huff escaped Wonwoo’s lips. “That’s the fourth time you’ve asked in the past three hours,” he groused. “Can’t I take more than a few hours to think about this?”

Jun chewed on his lip. “Yeah, but…” He stopped.

Wonwoo raised an eyebrow. “But what?”

“Just…” Jun hesitated. “I know you don’t really like Mingyu, but don’t you think you’ve been a bit harsh on him? I mean, what did he really do to you to get you to hate him so much? Something petty about how he doesn’t like you that way?”

Wonwoo pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t wanna talk about it—”

Jun interrupted him. “Wonwoo, it’s been three weeks and I am so fed up with you ignoring me and keeping this all inside you,” he said heatedly. “I’m your best friend and I want to make sure you’re okay, but you’re making it _so hard_ —!”

Wonwoo clapped a hand over Jun’s mouth, ears tinted red. “Do you ever shut up?” he hissed. “We’re in public. And you didn’t let me finish. I was gonna say, I don’t wanna talk about it here in the café. So, let’s pack up, go home, and eat some ramen for dinner. Okay?”

Jun sat up straighter, a bit shocked at how easily Wonwoo agreed to talk about _feelings._ “You owe me one heck of an explanation,” Jun said as soon as Wonwoo removed his hand over his mouth.

The two boys then packed up, leaving for their dorm building not so far from the school. It was in a good neighborhood with more than a few convenience stores placed around, so they stopped at one to buy dinner.

“You in for kimbap? I can get us some instant rice too,” Wonwoo said, grabbing the two off the shelves. “Are we short on anything in the dorm?”

Jun took some toothpaste from the toiletries aisle, along with a can of beer. “Just toothpaste. Here.” He met up with Wonwoo at the counter, setting his items down.

“Beer? Real classy,” Wonwoo teased, handing over the payment to the cashier.

“Hey, what’s wrong with some? It’s nearly the weekend,” Jun pouted, taking their bagged purchases and heading out with his roommate.

The two walked up the street to their building, taking the elevator to their room. It wasn’t very big, and since it was a dormitory, they weren’t allowed a gas stove in their room. Instead, they just had a mini fridge, a kettle, and a microwave.

Their dorm room was not so small that it was uncomfortable, but it wasn’t that big, either. A small hallway from the door led to the main room, which was big enough for a dining table with two chairs and a small sofa on one side, plus two study desks on the other. A TV hung on the wall between the desks. Their bunk beds were hidden behind a sliding door, and across from the bunk beds were their closets. The kitchenette was set along the small hallway, with the bathroom across from it. It was cozy, to say the least.

Wonwoo unlocked the door, slipping his shoes off and putting them on the rack by the door as Jun followed suit. He threw the keys into the bowl on the counter of their kitchenette as he walked past, dropping his bag onto his desk. “I’m tired,” he groaned.

Jun tutted. “Nuh uh, you’re going to make us ramen and we’re gonna talk about your whole Mingyu business,” he said strictly. “Now go change.”

The two of them changed into pajamas, with Wonwoo in a matching shirt-and-pants set and Jun in a pair of ratty old sweatpants and an old shirt. They heated up the water for their ramen, prepared it, and started to eat. They microwaved the instant rice as well.

“So, why did what Mingyu said bother you so much?” Jun started, slurping up his noodles. “I didn’t think dating was a thing you cared about.” He spooned some rice into his soup.

Wonwoo stuck his tongue out. “I mean, it’s not that I don’t care,” he rebutted, “more like… It’s a hassle for my future partner to deal with me, so I’d rather save them the trouble.”

“That’s kinda rude,” Jun thought aloud. “You’re already assuming they _wouldn’t_ go through the trouble.”

“Would they? I’m a handful, and you know it,” Wonwoo pointed out. “Besides, just… the fact he said he wasn’t interested was like rubbing salt in the wound. I guess I resented him for it.” He chewed on his noodles guiltily. “But you know how much I hate being wrong.”

“You do hate being wrong,” Jun agreed. “Is that why you kept pushing him away?”

Wonwoo nodded. “I thought if I made him hate me then he’d just stop and I’d forget about it, but god is he persistent.” He rolled his eyes. “I hated it when he would follow me and ask me for forgiveness. As if it wasn’t bad enough that I disliked him for something that wasn’t even his fault, now he’s apologizing for it.”

Jun unwrapped the package of kimbap they had bought from the convenience store, as well as the container of soy sauce that came with it. He munched on one as he studied Wonwoo. “This is the first time you’ve been open about this and you’re oddly calm,” he observed.

“I know I’m a bit too proud—” Wonwoo started.

“A bit?” Jun mumbled.

Wonwoo shot him a look. “Fine, I’m proud,” he restated. “But I was getting tired of feeling this way and I… Mingyu had a point. It’s better to put this past ourselves and settling it instead of trying to forget. I kinda hate him for being so mature at his age,” he grumbled.

Jun raised an eyebrow. “You’re admitting to it?” he said incredulously. “Who are you and what have you done with my roommate?”

Wonwoo playfully nudged him. “Weren’t you the one who always told me to talk about my feelings and stuff? Now you’re telling me you miss me being closed off?”

“No, no, I’m not saying that,” Jun said quickly. “I’m glad you’re taking my advice. Now, if you could just return Doctor Choi’s calls—”

“Nope.”

“Oh, c’mon!”

**UNKNOWN NUMBER:** Is this Mingyu Kim’s number?

**UNKNOWN NUMBER:** This is Wonwoo. I’m taking you up on your tutoring offer

**[ contact saved: wonwoo jeon ]**

**mingyu kim:** hi! yes, this is mingyu

**mingyu kim:** when did you wanna meet up?

**wonwoo jeon:** Is this weekend ok

**wonwoo jeon:** Next week is fine too

**mingyu kim:** this weekend is fine 😊 see you!

Mingyu’s heart raced. Wonwoo had actually reached out! Soonyoung was right after all. He bit his lip, tapping his fingers on the table excitedly. Finally he could apologize for everything he put him through.

He was in class when Wonwoo had texted, along with Yeojun, who sat beside him. He peeked over at Mingyu’s phone. “Texting a girl?” he teased.

Mingyu shook his head, blushing. “No, uh… it’s Wonwoo-sunbae. I’m gonna help him with a subject,” he said.

Yeojun tilted his head. “The second-year rep? Isn’t he, like, some kind of introvert?” he asked.

Mingyu’s eye almost twitched at the tone Yeojun had said it with. “He is,” he said, restraining himself. “But he’s really nice and I’m glad he asked me for help.”

Shrugging, Yeojun returned to listening to the lecture. “Suit yourself.”

Class ended, and Mingyu found himself heading to the library. Besides back at his and Soonyoung’s apartment, the library was one of his favorite spots to work. The natural light filtering in through the big windows in the integrated study hall just calmed him down and relaxed him enough to do his homework properly.

Yeojun’s offhand comment still stuck in the back of his mind though. Was it so bad being an introvert? And was Wonwoo really an introvert, or were there other things Yeojun was referring to? Mingyu wasn’t quite sure, but he knew it rubbed him the wrong way.

He shook his head, trying to remove his disruptive thoughts, and focus instead on rewriting his hastily scribbled notes during CMT yesterday.

CMT was generally somewhat uncomfortable for Mingyu since the start of the term. He and Wonwoo tended to sit on opposite sides of the room, and given the latest incident, the atmosphere was almost chilly. Mingyu’s attention span was already small, but Wonwoo’s very presence was enough to push him over the edge sometimes and distract him.

Wonwoo Jeon… lately, he’d been the subject of most of Mingyu’s qualms and worries. Mostly because of their fights, and sometimes because of the way Wonwoo looked in the sunlight during their classes together.

The second-year had a habit of sitting by the window, and since their class was held in the late morning, the sun was still low enough to illuminate the room near any windows, which every classroom had an abundance of. The university valued using natural light as much as possible.

Wonwoo just happened to always have a free seat near the windows despite coming in late. And always diagonally across from where Mingyu sat, so every time he lifted his head, he’d be able to catch a glimpse of his senior, immaculately bathed in golden sunlight.

It was a bit difficult not to stare, because the upperclassman looked downright amazing in the sun. His hair was actually a dark brown and not black, Mingyu realized, and his pale skin seemed to shine under the sun’s rays. He couldn’t see his eyes very well, but once Wonwoo came into class wearing some round rimmed glasses with a shirt half-tucked into some cropped jeans, and Mingyu thought he felt his heart run laps.

Also, Wonwoo had an insanely attractive profile, and Mingyu thought it was unfair.

So far, he’d only seen Wonwoo smile once—and it wasn’t even a proper smile, just a small chuckle when their professor made a corny joke. But Mingyu found himself glancing at his senior, and he felt his pulse quicken upon seeing his lips curl up. He was a bit distressed that such a small muscle movement was enough to render his hands sweaty and his face red. He had to look away and take some breaths to calm his angry blush.

Mingyu’s cheeks reddened when he remembered what he was supposed to be doing: studying instead of daydreaming about his maybe-enemy and how handsome he looked. With them meeting for a tutoring session, he found his musing had gone on longer than usual. (Not that he thought about Wonwoo’s face often.)

He sighed. It was gonna be a long afternoon.

Saturday rolled around faster than Mingyu would like to admit. He was a bit anxious about how the whole thing would go down, since every time he and Wonwoo had been alone or had talked, something bad happened. He hoped nothing like that would happen this time.

The two of them agreed on meeting at a coffee shop nearby both of their places, a small hole-in-the-wall joint named Nook. Apparently, it had good coffee and food, and given that Wonwoo had suggested it, Mingyu didn’t have the heart to say he didn’t actually like coffee.

Mingyu looked at himself in the mirror of the bathroom. He shook his head so his hair would look less proper and more natural. He made sure to wash his face and put on some serum the night before, so he looked presentable for today.

Soonyoung watched him from the dining table. “You sure seem like you’re putting a lot of effort into cleaning up for this tutoring session,” he noted, sipping some orange juice. “You sure you don’t actually like Wonwoo?”

Mingyu tried to hide his pink cheeks. “I just want to make a good impression,” he said nonchalantly. “I mean, I’ll be out the whole day so I wanna look good enough.”

“Sure,” Soonyoung said, thoroughly unconvinced. “You just happened to wear your nice jeans and jacket, too?”

Mingyu huffed, putting his hands on his hips. “So what? I like this outfit,” he said, returning to look at the mirror and fix his bangs. “Maybe if I look nice, then Wonwoo won’t be apprehensive.”

“Trust me, it’s not your clothes,” Soonyoung mumbled under his breath, chugging the rest of his juice. “What time will you guys get home?”

“I dunno. But don’t bother waiting up,” Mingyu said, exiting the bathroom and grabbing his backpack off his desk chair. “I’ll bring my own keys.”

He left soon after that, walking up the street. It was around three blocks away from their apartment building, and he decided to just walk there. They set a meeting time at 1 pm, and because he didn’t like being tardy, he left a little after 12:30 pm.

He really liked the neighborhood he was in; there were a lot of trees, not too many busy streets, and a sizable park perfect for picnics and lounging around in the grass. Mingyu made a mental note to try studying there sometime so he could get some fresh air.

He wondered absentmindedly if Wonwoo liked studying outside.

He checked his maps app on his phone if he was headed the right direction, and sure enough, it was just across the street. He crossed it carefully (looking both ways before walking, of course) and looked through the shop window for any sign of Wonwoo. Luckily, he seemed to be the first one there.

He opened the door, stepping inside and inhaling the fresh aroma of coffee beans. He was a stickler for anything coffee related—meaning, he would avoid literally anything with caffeinated coffee in it—but he had to admit, they smelled good.

The coffee shop was reasonably sized, with tables along the sides and in the middle of the room. The dessert display and the cashier were along one side of the room, along with the pick-up counter. There was a set of chalkboard menus above the counter with a list of savory snacks and meals, which they updated daily. The interior was decorated with a very rustic vibe, with lots of wood and black iron accents. Mingyu liked the atmosphere of the place and took note of the fairy lights strung around the shop.

He took a seat in one of the tables in the middle of the room, setting his bag down on the floor as he waited for Wonwoo. He prepared his notes and his readings, shooting Wonwoo a text that he had arrived.

**mingyu kim:** hey, just got here

**mingyu kim:** wru?

Wonwoo yawned as he turned away from the wall. With his eyes still closed, he fumbled for his phone that was charging on the floor. He grumbled as he blinked his eyes open, still squinting at his screen as he read the time.

**1:33 PM**

**New Text Message**

**mingyu kim**

_hey, just got here_

_wru?_

_sunbae? you there?_

**4 unread messages**

Wonwoo sat up quickly, cursing the whole time he grabbed clothes from his closet and skipped over to the bathroom haphazardly. “Jun! Why didn’t you wake me?!”

Said roommate looked up from his book on the couch, raising his eyebrows. “You think I didn’t try? I literally tried to wake you six times and you just went back to sleep each time. I told you to sleep before 12 am because of that thing you have with Mingyu but you just kept playing League!” he berated Wonwoo.

Wonwoo took the quickest shower in the history of showers, brushing his teeth and combing his hair at the same time. He tugged on his most comfortable set of jeans—he wasn’t in the mood to wear anything else—along with a hoodie he usually used as pajamas. He really couldn’t care less.

Shoving his notebooks and papers in his bag and quickly slinging it over his shoulder, he shoved his feet into his slip-on sneakers and hurried out the door.

In his hurry to rush to the coffee shop, he had forgotten to bring his phone. Even worse, he hadn’t texted Mingyu that he woke up late and would be there after a while. He only realized this when he had run half the distance to the coffee shop, and decided it wasn’t worth it. He just hoped Mingyu was still there when he arrived.

He knew it was his fault he woke up late, but to be honest, he did kind of hope he did so he could use it as an excuse to get out of this meeting they arranged. Sure, they were civil over text, but what about real life? Would they still be this okay or would it just be awkward?

Wonwoo tried not to think about it, and instead focused on getting to the coffee shop as quickly as possible.

Mingyu checked his phone. 2:13 pm, and Wonwoo still wasn’t there. Had he stood him up? Was it all a practical joke he wanted to play on Mingyu after being harassed multiple times? Mingyu didn’t want to think the worst.

He was getting a bit annoyed by now, but he would’ve understood if Wonwoo had returned his texts. However, he wasn’t. Not even a Seen alert or anything, which Mingyu thought was telling.

He shook his head, feeling embarrassed that he wasted his time getting ready and preparing his study material for nothing. If Wonwoo really had stood him up, then Mingyu had no more intention of making it up to him. He could piss off, for all he cared.

His hot chocolate sat untouched on the table, and it was probably cold at this point. He wanted to wait for Wonwoo before drinking it, but he guessed that that wasn’t happening any time soon.

He downed his drink, which he immediately regretted because it was thick and still a bit warm. It did taste delicious, though.

As soon as he put down his cup, the door opened behind him. He looked back, realizing he had a hot chocolate mustache and a mouth full of the stuff when he saw Wonwoo standing there, panting heavily. _Shit._

Mingyu immediately swallowed—which pained him more than he’d like to admit—and sat up straighter. “You’re late,” he managed to say, wiping his mouth with a napkin. He tried to seem annoyed but really, he was secretly relieved Wonwoo hadn’t just ghosted him.

Wonwoo was breathing hard, sitting down and trying to catch his breath. “Sorry—woke up late—forgot phone,” he gasped, setting his bag down on the floor as he hunched over. “Sorry,” he said again, face flushed.

Mingyu, sweet kid that he was, stood up and asked for a glass of water at the counter, bringing it over quickly. “Here, sunbae,” he offered, setting it down.

Wonwoo took the glass gratefully, nodding his thanks as he finished the whole glass. “Thanks,” he breathed out, wiping his forehead of sweat. “Um, sorry again. It’s… it was a stupid mistake on my part.”

“No, it’s fine, I understand,” Mingyu said, waving it off. “Are you sure you’re okay? You seem…”

“I’m just out of shape.” Wonwoo fanned himself using his hoodie. “Doesn’t help that I wore this thing, either. I just have bad judgement, I guess.” He said it as if it was a joke.

Mingyu chuckled. “No, I don’t think so,” he said, amused despite himself.

Wonwoo tilted his head at him. “Really? So, me getting mad at you for something you couldn’t help and staying mad out of a petty sense of pride isn’t bad judgement?” he replied blankly.

Mingyu blinked.

“Sorry, that… never mind—” Wonwoo started to say, before Mingyu cut him off.

“Hey, it was my fault I tried to force you to accept my apology. I should’ve backed off but I’m just stubborn. It’s a bad habit. I’m sorry for that.” Mingyu scratched his neck. “But I agree that you shouldn’t have been so mean to me.”

Wonwoo huffed. “I know,” he mumbled. “It’s hard for me to talk to people so to have someone like you so persistent keep reminding me of what I did was like someone constantly pushing on a bad bruise.” He couldn’t meet Mingyu’s eyes. “I’m sorry for that. And I accept your apology.”

“You really don’t like this stuff, do you?” Mingyu commented. “You’re so… tense.”

Wonwoo glared at him. “Look, I accepted your apology, alright? Can we do the studying thing now?” he said, trying to change the topic.

Mingyu wasn’t always perceptive, but at least he read the room right this time. “Sure. So, where do we begin?”

The next four hours went by in a bit of a blur. It was a mix of Mingyu teaching Wonwoo, then Wonwoo asking questions that they argued over the answer to, to Mingyu cracking terrible jokes and Wonwoo having to take a break because of it.

Mingyu was just glad he was able to make Wonwoo smile at least once that day. Even if Wonwoo told him his jokes were bad, he knew he was lying because he ended up laughing anyway. It was honestly endearing and kinda cute.

They were both still a bit awkward with each other, but at least the unfriendly atmosphere had dissipated somewhat. Wonwoo still was closed off but at least he was comfortable enough to make jokes and smile.

As they finished up, Mingyu noticed how dark it had gotten. “Oh, I didn’t realize it was late,” he said, checking the time on his phone. “Sorry for keeping you.”

Wonwoo shook his head, stretching his arms above his head. “It’s alright. I don’t mind staying out late if I’m studying because at least it’s a legit excuse,” he said. “Jun’s not gonna be at home tonight anyway. So I won’t be inconveniencing him or anything.”

“Oh? Why’s he out?” Mingyu asked.

“He’s part of the martial arts club. They go out on weekends sometimes, and tonight just happened to be one of those times,” Wonwoo explained. He hummed. “Do you know any good take-out places nearby?”

Mingyu knew Wonwoo was probably going to eat dinner alone, and he did tell Soonyoung that he’d be home late…

“Oh, um… we can eat dinner together, if you want,” he suggested, trying to hide his red ears. “I know a good chicken place Soonyoung takes me to a lot.”

Wonwoo glanced at him. “You’re… asking me to dinner?”

“I mean, we don’t have to,” Mingyu said quickly. “But if you’re just gonna eat dinner alone… I mean, we’re already together—by together, I mean we’re already out anyways so we might as well eat dinner together if you want to.” He inwardly smacked himself for rambling. _Great job, idiot._

Wonwoo tried to hide a smile. “And I thought you didn’t like me,” he joked. “I’m just teasing. We can eat out together if you want.”

Mingyu wanted to pray to all the gods that existed for Wonwoo’s cute face.

“Uh, sure! I’d like that,” he agreed. “It’s not too far from here either.”

“Great,” Wonwoo said, starting to keep his things. “After running about a kilometer and a half, I’m not in the mood to walk long distances.”

The whole walk to the restaurant was different to how Mingyu imagined it. He thought it would be filled with uncomfortable silence and awkward pauses, but it was actually pleasant.

Mingyu loved to tell stories, and since he got into a lot of hijinks, it was fitting he would tell Wonwoo some of those stories. He was also lucky that Wonwoo had a sense of humor that fit with Mingyu’s story-telling.

Wonwoo snorted. “No way. I can’t believe that happened,” he said firmly, shaking his head. “You were _not_ chased by a goat through the school.”

“It’s true!” Mingyu insisted, taking his phone out. “They brought some goats to school for a fair, God knows why, and one of them had gotten loose, and I happened to be holding food for them because I was going to feed the goats. Then it saw my hand and started chasing me. And being a scared little 12-year-old—”

“Oh c’mon, you were not little at 12,” Wonwoo said.

“Growth spurts are a thing, you know.”

“Psh, I like to believe you were always tall.”

Mingyu smiled. “Anyway, here,” he said, showing Wonwoo a video of one of the goats chasing a boy into the gym. “That’s me.”

Wonwoo took Mingyu’s phone, squinting at the screen. Mingyu wanted to squish his cheeks.

“No way,” Wonwoo said in disbelief. “That’s crazy! Did no one even try to catch it?”

Mingyu grinned triumphantly. “Told you. Also, yes, its caretaker eventually managed to corner it. But I was scared of goats for a long time after that.”

Wonwoo snorted. “Yeah, because that’s so traumatizing,” he joked.

The pair arrived at the restaurant, opting to sit outside. It was breezy that night, and just the right temperature, too. Not too humid, but not too dry.

They sat across from each other, flipping through the menus given to them by the waitress before ordering a set of half orders, a side of pickled radish, and some beer. Wonwoo added some tteokbokki for sharing.

“You had a wild childhood,” Wonwoo said, propping his elbows up on the table. “Can’t believe you turned out fine.”

A small tinge of sadness tugged at Mingyu’s heart. “Yeah… I guess,” he lied. “College is way different that high school though, so I can’t say that my life is easier now.”

Wonwoo chuckled. “True. I don’t think anyone would have expected it to be the way it is,” he said. “You’re not having a hard time, are you?”

“It’s just the end of the first month, so I can’t say for sure,” Mingyu replied. “But so far, I guess the only thing causing me trouble was… you.”

Wonwoo winced slightly. “Yeah. Not the best way to start college,” he muttered. “Sorry about that.” He paused, chewing on his lip. “I… I judged you wrongly. You’re not that bad,” he confessed. “I was terrified about how today would go. But I guess I didn’t have any reason to.” He shot him a small smile. “Thanks for not being an asshole about the whole thing.”

“If anything, I have you to thank, sunbae,” Mingyu replied. “After all the stuff I did, I’m just shocked you’re not, like, upset with me still.”

Wonwoo laughed softly. “I forgive you,” he said lightly. “Let’s just try to put this all behind us, alright? Nothing worse than reminding ourselves of it. Besides, we’re out having dinner and drinking together. I think we’re way past that stupid fight now.”

Mingyu returned the smile. “I’m glad.” He ran a hand through his hair, letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Can I call you hyung now?”

Wonwoo smirked. “Don’t push it,” he teased. “Yeah, you can.”

Mingyu cheered, even though Wonwoo tried to shush him out of embarrassment. He didn’t mind though. It still made Wonwoo smile.

Mingyu returned to his dorm at around 11 pm. Soonyoung was busy with his game at the time (if screaming at his monitor is considered busy), so he didn’t really have time to ask him about what happened. Mingyu didn’t mind.

He took a quick shower before he lied in bed, texting Wonwoo even after they had gone back to their respective dorms. He smiled at his phone as they talked about one of the animes they both apparently liked. He was a bit excited that he and Wonwoo shared some of the same interests, but he couldn’t pinpoint why.

Soonyoung turned in his desk chair as his game ended, peeking over at his roommate. “You alright there?” he asked, taking his headphones off and muting himself on his friends’ call. “You seem happy. Did the tutoring session go well?”

“Yeah,” Mingyu answered, sending another message before propping himself up on his arm. “Turns out Wonwoo and I have a lot in common. We ended up fixing things, too,” he added. “We’re going out for a movie next weekend.”

Soonyoung blinked. “Jeez, you guys move fast,” he commented. “When’s the wedding?”

Mingyu threw a sock at his head. “Not in that way!” he retorted. “Just as friends. Trying to make up for the time we spent hating each other.” A blush spread across his face. “Besides, he’s probably not interested.”

“Oh, but you are?” Soonyoung insinuated, sliding over in his chair. “So I was right that you like him?” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Mingyu rolled his eyes, lying back down and turning over. “No,” he said loudly. “Go back to your game.”

Soonyoung snickered, mumbling something about happy crushes before Mingyu got him in the head with another sock.

A small fluttering feeling in Mingyu’s stomach told him that his roommate may have been onto something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [my twitter!](https://twitter.com/soonyeonie)
> 
> leave a kudos and a comment <3


	4. how a beach trip can help with catharsis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mingyu wanted to smack Soonyoung for his extreme matchmaking antics.
> 
> Wonwoo had waited long enough to tell Mingyu about something important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i... am extremely sorry that it took me this long to update ^^;; school really caught up with me, and i've been bombarded with an insane amount of homework and exams and it's just been a lot. i hope the longer chapter makes up for it somehow! enjoyyy

The rest of the term went by pretty uneventfully. Nothing compared to the hell of a shit-storm that the first few weeks were, and Mingyu found himself coping well to college life.

He and Wonwoo had become fast friends, regardless of their rough start. Wonwoo had given him his old notes, and in exchange, Mingyu kept helping him with CMT. Both of them were doing great in their respective classes, and they were even partnered for their term output without much contest. If you had told Mingyu that he and Wonwoo were as close as friends could be at the start of the term, he’d laugh and think you were kidding. But he’s forever grateful to whichever higher being was up there granting him the pleasure of being Wonwoo’s friend.

It was finals week, and Mingyu was finishing up a report he had to present the next day. He was sitting at one of the open-air tables in the quad, and Wonwoo sat across from him, rewriting his notes for an exam he had later that day.

Since they started hanging out, Mingyu found himself depending less on Soonyoung’s companionship—not that he stopped hanging out with him—and his other freshman friends, opting instead to spend more time with Wonwoo. Whether it be eating lunch together or grabbing a drink on Friday night or just playing games on the weekend, nothing was boring as long as he was with Wonwoo, and he was kind of pleased about that fact.

“Hyung, does this look okay to you?” Mingyu asked, turning the laptop around to show the elder male his PowerPoint. “I think the colors clash.”

Wonwoo looked up at the screen, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He squinted at the screen. “Yeah, don’t use that green,” he agreed. “Here, I’ll show you one of the color palette generators Jun and I use all the time,” he offered, pulling up the browser on Mingyu’s computer and typing in the web address. “I bookmarked it for you too. So now your slides will look all nice and pretty.” He smiled at Mingyu.

Well, there was one problem with being friends with Wonwoo: he was a superlative of all things good: he was so smart, so funny, so kind, so _cute_ , and everything from the way he brushed the hair out of his eyes, to his heart-achingly beautiful smile, to his light lilting laugh was enough to give Mingyu a stomach full of butterflies. And he didn’t know how to make it stop.

It also didn’t help that Wonwoo was exceedingly attractive and very handsome when he did so much as _talk_ , and Mingyu was a bit peeved at how he managed to make him go through seventy-nine different emotions by doing so little.

“Hello? Mingyu?” Wonwoo tilted his head slightly, waving his hand across Mingyu’s face. “You okay? You spaced out a bit.”

Mingyu blinked himself out of his reverie, eyes focusing on Wonwoo’s face.

The way Wonwoo looked under the shade of the trees on a bright, sunny day, and the way the sunlight filtering through the leaves made his normally black-brown hair look lighter especially wasn’t helpful with controlling the way Mingyu’s heart ran laps in his chest.

“I’m fine,” he said, feeling the heat grow in his cheeks. “Just nervous, I guess.”

Wonwoo chuckled, clapping him on the shoulder reassuringly. “I get you. Doc Jinhee seems really strict, but she’s forgiving when it comes to freshmen,” he said comfortingly. “So even if you mess up but manage to make sense, she’ll give you a good grade.”

Mingyu felt a smile tug at the corners of his lips. “Thanks, hyung. I mean, I never had any problems with presentations until last year,” he admitted.

“Last year? What happened last year?” Wonwoo asked, curious. He looked up at Mingyu with big bright eyes and Mingyu inwardly swore at how adorable he looked.

“Uh, there was this really harsh teacher famous for failing people for the tiniest mistakes,” Mingyu said, feeling a chill run down his back from the slew of bad memories he had dug up. “Gave us one heck of a year. I hate him with a passion.” He shivered to make a point.

Wonwoo laughed a little. “Luckily for you, I’ve yet to meet a prof as bad as him.” He sat up straighter, stretching his arms before glancing at his watch. “I have that exam in an hour, so I’ll head to the classroom now. Go through it with my classmates,” he chirped, taking his notebooks, and putting them back in his bag. “Meet you at Milk-bun later?”

Mingyu flashed him a thumbs-up. “Yeah. Good luck, hyung. I know you’ll do great.” He grinned at Wonwoo, beaming. “But also—don’t’ do so good that I lose the bet.”

The two had bet on their grades for that term: whoever’s GPA was higher had to be treated to anything they wanted at Milk-bun by the loser for the next term.

Wonwoo stuck his tongue out, tousling Mingyu’s hair as he stood up to leave. “Ha, you wish. I’ll win that bet and then you’ll have to buy a term’s worth of strawberry smoothies.” He winked at Mingyu playfully before walking away, waving over his shoulder as he disappeared into one of the corridors.

Mingyu put a hand to his chest, feeling the thump of his heart against his ribcage. He tried not to squeal.

What was he going to do about this?

Mingyu exited the classroom a few days later after his last exam before the term break. He had barely stepped out into the corridor before someone covered his eyes from behind him.

“Wh—Hyung!” Mingyu squeaked, pulling the hands over his eyes down and turning around. Wonwoo stood behind him, grinning. “Were you scared?” he asked, pinching Mingyu’s cheek.

Mingyu bit back a smile. “Not at all,” he said, sticking his tongue out. “What’re you doing here? I thought you had that faculty meeting until later.”

Wonwoo shrugged. “They cancelled it. Something about holding a meeting on the last day of class seemed wrong so the professors said we could discuss it over email instead,” he said, winking conspiratorially. “Maybe some charming second-year rep convinced them to reschedule. Anyway, now that we’re here… Remember Seokmin? The first-year rep from the Literature department?”

They started walking towards the building exit as Mingyu nodded. “Yeah. The one who mistook your minutes of the meeting notes for his?”

“Yep. Apparently, he knows Jihoon. Y’know, the one Music Prod student that hands off his dance tracks to Soonyoung sometimes,” Wonwoo explained, and Mingyu nodded as he followed along, “and he invited Seokmin, Soonyoung and anyone they want to come to this get-together at the beach.” He looped his arm with Mingyu’s as they walked along the sidewalk. “He also invited Seungcheol and Jeonghan, and they invited Jun and I to go with.” He smiled. “I’m assuming Soonyoung is going to invite you, so it would make no sense for me to.”

Mingyu rolled his eyes. “What if he doesn’t?”

“Hey, he doesn’t miss a minute inviting you to his dance shows. Besides, this is your first out-of-school trip with friends, right? No way he’d miss on inviting you,” Wonwoo pointed out. “You guys are like brothers. It’s actually kind of cute the way he dotes on you sometimes.”

Mingyu blushed. “Only because he’s never had a sibling, so he compensates by taking care of me,” he said. He nudged Wonwoo. “Anyway, why don’t you invite me now, so we don’t have to wait for Soonyoung-hyung to? Also, we could go shopping for stuff tomorrow.” He paused. “When is this outing anyway?”

A mischievous smile formed on Wonwoo’s face.

“Oh no,” Mingyu said, frowning. “We’re leaving tomorrow, aren’t we?”

Wonwoo pulled Mingyu close, smiling widely. “Yep. So, go home and get packed, we leave at 6 am!” he announced, pretending to swim as Mingyu snorted and tried to get him to stop (even though it was insanely endearing).

Mingyu and Wonwoo grabbed dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant since they both were craving black bean noodles and sweet and sour chicken. The pair hadn’t eaten out in a while because of their busy schedules, but they were able to enjoy eating and exchanging stories of their finals and term outputs. A warm spot settled in Mingyu’s chest during the whole thing, and he didn’t want it to leave. He enjoyed Wonwoo’s company more than he’d like to admit (and God knows he wants to).

He came home at around 9 pm, holding a paper bag of leftovers. He opened the door to find Soonyoung ruffling through his hanged clothes, with a small carrier open at his feet. There were a few articles of clothing already in the bag, along with a good amount strewn about the place.

“Hi, hyung,” Mingyu began, closing and locking the door behind him. He set his bag down on the couch as he approached his roommate. “Packing for that beach trip?”

Soonyoung peeked out of the curtained off closet, eyebrows knitted together. “How’d you know? I was planning on surprising you when you got home,” he said, pouting. “I was thinking of how to convince you, and I thought of this sales pitch.” He headed out, standing up straighter and counting off his fingers. “It has all good things: the beach, beer, no parental supervision—”

“We don’t have parental supervision here and a good amount of beer in the fridge already,” Mingyu interrupted.

Soonyoung held up his hand. “Shh, still talking,” he asserted. “Aside from those, Wonwoo will be going and I arranged for you, me, Wonwoo and Jun to share a car on the way. And I’ll call shotgun as soon as we see each other and since Jun’s going to be driving, you and Wonwoo will share the backseat.” He shot Mingyu a triumphant grin, putting his hands on his hips. “How’s that for a wingman?”

Mingyu reddened. “Wh—Wingman? You’re still trying to get me and Wonwoo together?” he grumbled, heading to the fridge to grab a can of cola, partly so he could hide his face from Soonyoung because he would most definitely tease him endlessly if he saw how flustered he was getting. “I told you, I’m not interested in him.”

Soonyoung groaned, crossing his arms as he raised an eyebrow at Mingyu. “You can’t lie to me. I know you like him.”

“Fine. Prove it then,” Mingyu dared. He opened the can and sipped some of his soft drink. “What makes you so sure I like him?”

Soonyoung cracked his knuckles as he headed over to the breakfast bar, leaning on it. “Hmm, well, let’s see…” He tapped his fingers on the tabletop in thought. “You two hang out all the time, you always have this stupidly happy face on when you’re together, you are always chatting with him even if you just spent the whole day together, you save all of the selfies he sends you—even the ‘just woke up’ ones—and you always make it a point to say ‘he’s not interested’ as an excuse as to why you haven’t asked him out—” he looked Mingyu straight in the eyes, jabbing a finger at him, “—which means you’ve considered asking him out _and_ that means you do like him!” He made a small explosion sound while waggling his eyebrows. “Just admit it! You have a crush. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Mingyu swallowed looking away. “I won’t admit it because it’s not true,” he said shortly. “But once I figure out that I like someone, I promise you’ll be the first to know.”

“Why not Wonwoo?” Soonyoung asked, with a knowing expression on his face. “Aren’t you guys best friends?”

A tense chuckle escaped Mingyu’s lips. “I wouldn’t say _that_ ,” he said hesitantly. “I mean, we’re just friends. His best friend is Jun, and mine is… back in Anyang.” He waved it off. “Anyways, I would tell you first because you’re so insistent on knowing who I like.”

“Uh huh. Sure.” Soonyoung studied his face, as if deciding whether to push on, before he straightened his posture and returned to their shared closet. “Well, you can stay in denial and keep telling yourself that you’d tell me first and not Wonwoo because your crush would be Wonwoo.” He winked at Mingyu before resuming his packing. “You should start packing if we’re gonna leave in time. I passed by the mall after class to get some sunscreen and swimming trunks. Oh, and I invited Minghao, too. The hoobae I introduced to you at that party?”

Mingyu was silently relieved they had moved on from the topic. He didn’t want to have to confront that part of him right now, and he could tell Soonyoung noticed. “Yeah, I remember. Also, you don’t have swim trunks?” he asked, stepping over Soonyoung’s clothes on the floor as he headed to his bed. He set his can down on his desk.

“Do you?” Soonyoung’s voice piped up from the other side of the wall.

“Yeah, I brought some because I thought we might have swimming for Phys Ed somewhere down the line,” Mingyu admitted, slightly embarrassed. “Although I didn’t realize you only had it if you were in the Sports department.”

Soonyoung dumped another bunch of clothes unceremoniously onto the growing pile in his carrier. “Eh, I just didn’t bother.” He sat down on the floor, sorting through his clothing.

Mingyu tilted his head. “Is this how you pack?” he quipped. “Seems a bit messy.” He sat on his bed, finishing his drink as he watched his roommate displace several pieces of clothing at once.

“I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m not a very organized person.” Soonyoung gestured to his half of their bedroom space, which was full of clutter and a bunch of unknown crumbs. Mingyu didn’t want to ask. “Case in point,” Soonyoung said finally.

Mingyu shrugged before standing to grab an overnight bag from the drawers under his bed and start packing. “We have a long night ahead of us, then.”

“Yep. Hey, do me a favor and put _Running Man_ on, will you?” Soonyoung asked while sorting through what looked like the same four pairs of underwear.

Mingyu yawned as he brushed his teeth, giving up at fixing his hair after twenty minutes of it failing to cooperate with him. To his credit, it didn’t look _that_ bad. He’d had worse cases of bedhead that unfortunately, had photo evidence.

Soonyoung was busy double-checking if he had brought everything, from his carrier to his backpack to his belt-bag. He was a terrible packer but his impeccable ability to fit everything into his bags made up for his inefficient packing system. Mingyu thought about it as he absentmindedly stared at him from the bathroom.

“You ready?” Soonyoung called out. “Jun just texted. He said they’re about to leave.” He put on his cap, hanging his sunglasses on the collar of his shirt.

Spitting out the toothpaste and rinsing his mouth, Mingyu flashed him a thumbs-up as he replaced his toothbrush in its holder. (He had a separate toothbrush for travelling.) “Are we stopping anywhere?” he asked, wiping his mouth on a towel before stepping out of the bathroom. He grabbed his overnight bag and slung it over his shoulder. “I need to eat before taking my meds.”

Soonyoung nodded. “We’re gonna have breakfast at a rest stop somewhere, if I remember correctly,” he said. “You packed your medicines, right?”

Mingyu nodded, patting his bag. “Yep. I’m prepared.” He smiled a little. “I can’t remember the last time I was able to go on a trip with friends. I wasn’t exactly allowed out of my parents’ sight for a while when I was finally old enough.”

His roommate chuckled, pulling Mingyu in for an awkward side-hug. “Don’t worry, you’re with us now,” he assured him. “We’re gonna make sure you have a great time. Also, tell your mom I said hi. I’ll be sure to keep you safe.”

The two left their dorm, locking the door after them and heading to the lobby to wait for their friends. The sun had just started to rise, painting the roofs and the walls of the surrounding buildings with a golden glow. The faint sound of chirping birds could be heard, as well as the metallic clanking of storefronts’ steel grilles opening as they prepared for opening.

Mingyu wasn’t a pro at taking pictures, but he did appreciate the beauty of the sunrise in more ways than one. One of the things he wanted to try and do at least once was take photos with a film camera and develop his own pictures, since his dad used to do it when he was a kid. He enjoyed the process and the way the final photos looked.

“Yo! Jun!” Soonyoung called out, waving his hand at a car that approached them. Mingyu blinked, focusing on the vehicle as his roommate started jogging towards it. “Shotgun!” Soonyoung half-shouted.

Jun parked the car along the sidewalk, stepping out of the driver’s seat to help the two with their bags. “You already called shotgun last night,” he said, slightly miffed. “Wonwoo and I were supposed to play I Spy the whole ride there, and you ruined it.”

Wonwoo met Mingyu’s eyes through the glass, shaking his head insistently. “No way,” he mouthed. Mingyu just smiled back at him.

The two boys arranged their bags in the back along with Jun and Wonwoo’s, before getting in the car. It was something like a SUV, with three rows of seating including the front seats. The middle row was spacious enough that Mingyu was allowed a decent amount of legroom, which he appreciated.

Wonwoo handed him a bottle of chocolate milk, still cold. “Here. I had an extra in the fridge,” he said, hugging a pillow to his chest. “I was gonna get you coffee, but I remembered you don’t like it.”

Mingyu took the milk gratefully. “Yeah, I don’t. Thanks. I need some sugar to wake myself up before breakfast.”

“Just make sure you don’t wake me,” Wonwoo mumbled, yawning as he turned to face the window. “Not until we make it to the rest stop.”

Mingyu smiled to himself as he uncapped the bottle. “Sure, hyung,” he said, looking out his own window as Jun switched gears to drive, heading down the street to the highway.

“Yeah, 76 Coral Road… Right there,” Soonyoung directed.

Mingyu looked out the window at the row of beach-houses along the street. Jihoon’s family beach house was right by the sand, and it was in a private subdivision where, apparently, it was prime real estate to have your house right by the beach.

He was excited as they neared the house. It wasn’t very big: it was a simple two-storey house that looked rustic. The walls were made of stone brick that looked like they had dug it out of the cliff sides they passed by on the way there. The roof had rust red colored curved shingles, and the whole house had vines creeping up its walls. Mingyu didn’t mind, since it lent to the overgrown and forest-y vibes the house was going for anyway. The front garden was kept clean and trimmed, with a garage beside the main house structure. Although the house itself wasn’t that big, the lot it was built on was large and clearly the property had a backyard that hopefully complimented the house, along with a tree big enough to be seen from the front. But Mingyu had to wait and see if he was right.

Jun pulled up into the driveway, where the garage door was open. There were two cars already parked, and Mingyu noticed the aforementioned Jihoon bringing down bags and coolers of drinks. He was rather short compared to everyone else, but it didn’t seem to matter to him much. He was very talented in music production, having produced tracks for his peers in the Dance department, like Soonyoung, and arranging pieces for the university’s student orchestra sometimes. To think he was the same age as Soonyoung was amazing to Mingyu, but also incredibly baffling as to how he was able to achieve so much at his age. Either way, he commanded great respect.

Jihoon looked up at their car as they parked. He waved at Soonyoung, who got out of the car. He greeted the producer amicably, chatting for a bit as Jun exited suit. “Wake up Wonwoo, will you?” he asked Mingyu before shutting the door.

Mingyu turned to Wonwoo, who was still asleep. He almost didn’t want to wake him, because gosh darn was his sleeping face so cute. He shook his shoulder gently. “Hey, hyung? We’re here,” he said softly. “You gotta wake up.”

Said sleeping man grunted. “Nnh… one minute,” he mumbled, still half-asleep.

Shaking his head, Mingyu nudged him again. “Hey, wake up. Do you want me to lock you in the car?” he teased, gathering his own things, and preparing to leave the car. “Everyone’s bringing their stuff inside, c’mon.”

Wonwoo groaned, sitting up and rubbing his eyes from behind his glasses. He had a pretty big cowlick on the side of his head from where he leaned on his pillow, and an imprint of the pattern on his cheek. He yawned, groggily putting his pillow and his hoodie back in his bag. He looked like a right mess, but honestly, Mingyu still found him attractive. He silently berated himself for thinking so.

“How do I look?” Wonwoo asked. He stretched his neck to peek at his reflection in the rearview mirror, combing through his hair with his fingers to neaten it. “Ew. Never mind,” he said, trying to look presentable as Mingyu laughed.

“Hyung, you look fine. Let’s go,” Mingyu claimed, opening the car door, and sliding off the seat.

The sun shone down onto them, as they had arrived just before noon. He felt the prickling heat on his skin, but the cold chill of the winter season balanced it out. He wrapped his jacket around his waist before heading over to the back of the car to grab his stuff.

“Hey, Jihoon-hyung,” he greeted the homeowner. “Thanks for inviting us to stay here for the weekend.” He took his overnight bag as Jihoon shook his head.

“No need to thank me. My parents thought I should check up on the house, so I decided to invite a couple of people,” he explained. “The others are inside picking rooms. Later, Soonyoung and I will head into town to buy a few things, so you guys are free to do anything until sundown.”

Wonwoo appeared beside Mingyu, stifling a yawn. “What’s after sundown?” He took his carrier and plopped his backpack on it, threading the handle of the carrier through the bag’s straps.

“Bonfire!” Soonyoung chimed in, looking ridiculous with the number of bags he was carrying. “We’re gonna light a bonfire and roast marshmallows and tell ghost stories. It’ll be fun.” He grinned. “So, you guys better get ready.”

Jun took the last of the bags out and closed the back door of the car, before locking it with the keys. “Let’s get unpacked?” he suggested.

They all entered the house, which was decorated with shell garlands and rattan furniture. It was charming in the way it was inspired by the sea, with nets strung up on the walls and wind chimes by the entrances that jingled with a slight breeze and its natural color scheme. They stepped into the main living room of the house, with a few rattan couches and loveseats. There was a TV, but it was an old, blocky, square model that probably ran on cable. On some surfaces, like the end tables, several picture frames of the Lee family encompassing several years of beach trips sat in frames decorated with shakily painted fish and haphazardly stuck on pieces of dead coral.

The walls were made of the same stone as the outside of the house, and next to the living room was the dining table and the kitchen. The stairs to the second floor was by the entrance to the house, with a bathroom placed under it. There weren’t many walls, which led to the maximization of natural ventilation. Many of the windows were open, and on the far end of the room facing the beach, the whole wall was just made up of sliding screen doors.

Outside the screen doors was a porch, with a grill along one end and stairs leading down to the big, open backyard. It was mostly made up of sand and grass, with a few short trees, shrubs and other miscellaneous greenery growing near the fences of the yard. The big tree that Mingyu spotted out front situated itself near the end of the property, with a bench swing hanging from one of its bigger branches. There also seemed to be a picnic bench for dining outdoors. A fence-gate opened out onto the sandy beach and beyond, all to the way to the ocean.

Seungcheol and Seokmin were loading the drinks—lots of beer and some bottles of wine, Mingyu noticed—into the fridge, while he spotted Jeonghan and Minghao coming down the stairs from the second floor. He assumed that was where most of the bedrooms were.

“Oh, Mingyu! You’re here,” Jeonghan greeted him, pulling him in for a hug. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

Jihoon raised an eyebrow at the elder male, slipping past them to lug some of the bags upstairs. “I told you last night,” he muttered, jogging up the steps.

Jeonghan just chuckled, clearly amused. “Oh, and Wonwoo! I heard you two have been getting along better than you did a few months ago,” he remarked. He let go of Mingyu and pat Wonwoo on the shoulder. “Are you guys dating?” he teased.

Mingyu blanched, about to deny it (vehemently, he might add), when Wonwoo rolled his eyes in reply. “I could ask the same thing about you and Seungcheol-hyung.” He smirked. “How are things between you two?” he asked innocently. Jeonghan’s eye twitched.

Said man poked his head out from the kitchen. “I heard my name?” Seungcheol called out. He looked between them quizzically. “Wonwoo? Did you need me?”

Wonwoo winked at Jeonghan, watching the elder male’s face pale slightly, before heading over to his senior. “Yes, hyung, I have a cooler here. Where do I put the drinks?” he asked, shooting Mingyu a peace sign before he helped unload the beverages.

Mingyu tried not to snort as he watched Jeonghan’s face contort into a sour expression. Minghao only shrugged. “It was worse when we were in the car,” he whispered to Mingyu.

Jeonghan turned to them, glaring slightly. “Not a word,” he hissed.

Wonwoo headed back to where they stood by the stairs, brushing himself off. “Mingyu, you wanna unpack upstairs?” he asked, ignoring the way Jeonghan’s eyes threatened to sear a hole into his skull.

The pair headed upstairs with their bags, finding that there were four rooms in total. There were two rooms positioned beside each other along the hallway, another bedroom and a bathroom opposite the first two, with the last room placed at the end of the hall. “I wonder what the room assignments are,” Mingyu thought out loud.

As if on cue, Jihoon exited one of the rooms, nearly bumping into the two. “Ah, Mingyu, Wonwoo. Your room is here,” he started, leading them to the last room. “Soonyoung said you two were rooming together?”

Blinking, Wonwoo glanced at Mingyu before clearing his throat. “Uh, I thought we were deciding together,” he said. “Did you assign rooms without us?”

Jihoon looked at them, confused. “Oh, uh, Soonyoung told me that it was okay if I paired you two together. Did you want other roommates? I can ask the others if they’re willing to switch,” he offered.

Mingyu wanted to hit Soonyoung on the head with a rock. Was this idea of being a wingman? He had a growing urge to bury his head in his hands out of embarrassment.

“Nah, it’s okay. Do you mind, Gyu?” Wonwoo asked. “I mean, we were talking about it on the way over,” he added, nudging him slightly. He smiled at Mingyu.

 _Damn that smile. It’s the bane of my existence,_ Mingyu thought, inwardly banging his head against a wall. He simultaneously wanted to thank and curse Soonyoung. Was that a good feeling? Probably not. Maybe it was? He wasn’t quite sure.

He mustered a small grin, shaking his head. “No, it’ll be great,” he said, still skeptical, as he and Wonwoo followed Jihoon to their room.

Their host opened the door, stepping aside for them to walk in. It was a pretty big room, with a dresser on the far end. There was a big window overlooking the sea, with blinds you could pull down at night. The window was currently open, filling the room with the fragrant ocean breeze and the smell of cold, fresh air. However, for as beautiful the room was, Mingyu felt his stomach sink as he noticed that there was only one bed.

Which meant he and Wonwoo would have to share the bed. Together. They would be lying down… together… in the same bed.

_Damn you, Soonyoung._

“Everyone else picked rooms, so we only had this one left for the both of you,” Jihoon said apologetically. “It’s the master bedroom, so that’s why there’s only one bed. If you’re uncomfortable, I can set up a futon.”

Wonwoo shook his head before Mingyu could agree. “It’s okay. The bed seems big enough,” Wonwoo assured. “Thanks for this again, hyung.”

Mingyu clenched his teeth and nodded despite himself, setting his bag down on the floor. “Yeah, thanks,” he repeated, trying to not sound pained. “You said you were going into town later?”

“Yep. Gonna buy some stuff that we forgot to,” Jihoon answered. “Feel free to do whatever, as long as you don’t break anything.” He gave them a small smile before leaving. “Get comfortable. Lunch is in a bit.”

As he left, Wonwoo flopped onto the bed almost immediately. “Ah, this bed is nice,” he mused, before sitting up to look out the big window. “It looks amazing here,” he sighed.

Mingyu couldn’t help but feel the corners of his mouth twitch up as he watched Wonwoo gaze out at the waves crashing down onto the shore and the birds flying past.

“Yeah, it does,” he muttered, tearing his eyes away from his new roommate for the weekend to unpack.

The sun was setting on the horizon as they lounged out on the picnic bench. Seungcheol and Jihoon took up cooking duties, grilling some fish and other seafood they had bought in the local market. Meanwhile, the rest were chatting over drinks and chips, with the chilly winter air keeping them cool.

“There is _no way_ you can do three consecutive backflips,” Seokmin said as Minghao only shrugged. “I can prove it, if you want.”

Jun hollered. “Woo! Backflip, backflip!” he cheered.

Minghao swung his legs over the seat, standing a safe distance away. “You ready?” he asked, with the rest of his friends cheering and whooping in reply. He shot Seokmin a wink as he did one, then two, then three, and lastly four backflips, one after the other.

Seokmin’s mouth hung open. “Dude, that’s so cool,” he marveled. “Did you do martial arts or something?”

Minghao nodded. “Yeah, but I moved onto dancing. Some of the stunts I can do are mostly thanks to the martial arts background though.”

Raising his bottle of beer, Soonyoung cleared his throat. “To extreme Chinese martial arts,” he said, proposing a toast. “Without it, my adorable hoobae wouldn’t be acing his Dance Fundamentals class.”

The rest just raised their drinks in amusement, with Minghao protesting that there was nothing to do with stunts in his FND-104 class at all.

Mingyu just laughed at his roommate’s antics as Seokmin launched into another crazy story about pigeons. He glanced down the table at Wonwoo, who was seated diagonally across from him. His cheeks had started to get red from the alcohol, giving his face a cute blushing glow. Paired with his glasses, the sleeveless tee, the constant smile he had on, and his muscular arms that he just so happened to have, he looked fucking amazing. It was as if Poseidon himself had come down and granted him the ability to look a hundred times more attractive by the beach. (Probably not, but hey, it was possible.)

Soonyoung nudged him in the side. “Admiring the view?” he teased. “Can’t blame you.” He narrowly dodged the punch Mingyu aimed at his shoulder. “Hey! Just calling it like I see it!”

Mingyu reddened. “What, can’t I look at my friends?” he huffed. “I didn’t even look that long!”

“You spent a full minute. I counted,” Soonyoung said pointedly. “Also, you were smiling like an idiot. I noticed.” He smiled knowingly. “If that’s not a sign of a crush, then I’m blind.”

Mingyu smacked the back of his head lightly. “Asshole. Don’t you need glasses?”

“Ha! I have contacts,” Soonyoung shot back proudly.

The night went on without much problem, eating dinner and drinking more alcohol to get everyone into a drunken enough stupor that ended with Seungcheol defeating everyone in an arm-wrestling competition.

Soonyoung, Jun and Jihoon had taken it upon themselves to start up the bonfire, while the rest cleaned up for the night. Mingyu and Wonwoo were in charge of washing the dishes.

Wonwoo handed Mingyu a plate to dry. “Tonight’s been the most fun I’ve had in years,” he said softly, smiling a little. “I’ve never really been to a lot of outings, so this was refreshing.”

Mingyu put the plate on the rack to fully dry. “Really? Why not?” he asked. “You seem like a guy who gets along with people.”

The elder shot him a look, like “really?” “Don’t you remember when we first met?” he recalled, shaking his head as he scrubbed a bowl clean. “God, that was so stupid.”

“Yeah, I remember thinking you were such a dick.” Mingyu laughed a bit. “I’m just glad we got over it. Imagine where we would be now if we hadn’t.”

Wonwoo nodded, humming in agreement. “Yeah.” He rinsed the bowl silently, as if in thought. Mingyu tilted his head, studying his friend.

“Penny for your thoughts?” he offered after a while. “You seem a bit lost in your head there.”

Wonwoo chuckled weakly. “When am I not?” he joked.

Mingyu stared. “Hey, that’s not funny.” He put a hand on Wonwoo’s arm. “Are you okay?” he asked, the concern in his face evident. “Has something been bothering you?”

Wonwoo looked at him, and it was as if he was fighting some urge. He opened his mouth to talk, but would close it right before saying anything. “Can we talk? After everyone’s asleep?” he finally said. “I… I wanna tell you something.”

A nervous gurgle escaped Mingyu’s lips. “O-Oh. Uh, yeah. Sure,” he stuttered. “It’s nothing serious, right?”

The grim look on Wonwoo’s face wasn’t comforting. “I guess. It depends,” he mumbled, continuing to wash the utensils. “Just…” He inhaled deeply, before exhaling and plastering a weak smile on his face. “I’ll tell you later. Don’t worry about it too much.”

Mingyu could sense a deep sadness behind Wonwoo’s eyes, but he stopped himself from asking. “Yeah, okay. I’ll try.”

The bonfire was fun, but it did nothing to quench Mingyu’s nerves. He was on edge for most of the night after that talk with Wonwoo, and the ghost stories only served to feed on his increased jumpiness.

Aside from the now forever captured pictures of him falling off the logs they used as seats, he kept an eye on Wonwoo the whole night for any sign of that melancholy from earlier. But it was as if he was a different person, or Mingyu guessed, the same person he thought Wonwoo was before that encounter in the kitchen. He was laughing and joking and poking fun, and all the while Mingyu was doubting himself and his own memory. Did that actually happen? Was Wonwoo playing a trick on him? No, of course not, he wasn’t that cruel. But it was really strange.

It was nearly 3 am when they decided to douse the fire and go to bed. Mingyu didn’t notice anything fishy either while they were packing up, and it just served to increase his doubts. He didn’t know what Wonwoo wanted to tell him. Maybe he found out about Mingyu’s crush on him?

_Wait, no. I don’t like him… Do I?_

Mingyu wanted to smack himself. He hated feelings, especially if they were confusing ones about a certain upperclassman with an extremely attractive face.

They all went upstairs and got ready for bed. Mingyu and Wonwoo brushed their teeth together, an awkward silence settling over them like a thick blanket. They would meet eyes in the mirror and instantly look away, like deer caught in headlights. It was too much for Mingyu’s heart to handle.

They both headed to bed, with Mingyu lying down on his side of the bed and Wonwoo taking the other. As if his friend’s strange behavior wasn’t enough, Mingyu had to handle being in close proximity with him and somehow avoid making things uncomfortable.

Alas, in this sort of situation, it was almost undeniable that something would happen.

Mingyu lay down facing away from Wonwoo, making to sleep, but he couldn’t. Not when a million tiny thoughts were whizzing around in his brain, his neurons firing signals so fast he wasn’t sure they were even forming coherent ideas at this point.

He turned around to check if Wonwoo was asleep, but he was awake too, and now they were both lying down facing each other in the dim light of the early morning moon.

Mingyu shut his eyes immediately, hoping to God that Wonwoo wouldn’t notice that his cheeks were burning hot with embarrassment. He felt the bed dip with Wonwoo’s weight, before he felt a tap on his shoulder.

“Hey, let’s go,” Wonwoo whispered, wrapping a jacket around himself.

They snuck downstairs, with Mingyu throwing on a pullover to combat the cold ocean wind that would for sure be blowing, especially this early in the morning. He glanced at the clock that hung on the wall in the living room, noting that it was past 4 am.

Wonwoo unlocked and slid the screen doors open, closing them after Mingyu. He walked over to the beach, with Mingyu at his side. They walked in silence to a small patch of grass nearby, where Wonwoo sat down. He patted the sand beside him, looking up at Mingyu. “Sit.”

Mingyu followed, sitting down on the sand and making himself comfortable. “So, what’s this you have to tell me?” he asked, hoping the tremble in his voice wasn’t obvious.

Wonwoo brought his knees up to his chest, hugging his legs. He leaned his chin on his knees, staring at the crashing ocean waves. “I feel like… we’ve gotten closer the past few months,” he started. “I was a bit skeptical about you, because you were brash and cocky and really, _really_ handsome, that I thought you might be one of those typical guys who’s only concerned about girls and superficial things.

“But I was wrong, and… I’ve never been happier to be proven wrong. It was such a relief that you turned out so… understanding, and nice, and kind, and funny. It was like… I found someone who really understood me, and was so considerate and thoughtful. You’re a really, really great friend. And… it’s been a long while since I’ve met someone like you.”

Mingyu’s heart leaped in his chest. It sounded nice to know Wonwoo thought of him that way. “I’m glad, then—”

Wonwoo put a hand on his arm. “No, I’m… I’m not done,” he said, voice shaky. Mingyu wasn’t sure if it was because of the cold or if it was because of something else.

“I… Um, that day when Jun tricked me into having lunch with you, I had a panic attack,” he murmured, voice growing quieter. “It’s why I left. And… I, um… I have them because… I have anxiety. And it was bad last year, really bad. It’s not so bad now, but it manifests sometimes, and I just thought… you know, you’re a great friend, so I wanted to let you know. It’s a part of me that I’m not proud of, and I was ashamed of it for a long time. I still am.” He took a breath, trying to fight back tears. “I feel like I was very unfair to you for letting my anxiety dictate what I should and shouldn’t do, about whether or not I should hear you out or not because I was afraid of letting someone else into my life, especially after I was so rude to you. I wasn’t sure if you were doing it out of spite to prove me wrong, or if you were genuine, and it ate me up from the inside. So… um… here’s my full explanation of my side of the story. I just thought you should know.”

Wonwoo looked away from Mingyu, a small sob slipping past. “You don’t have to say anything. I understand it’s a heavy thing to drop on someone all of a sudden, but—”

Mingyu hugged Wonwoo tightly, leaning over and wrapping his arms around him. “Hey, it’s okay. I get it,” he whispered, rubbing Wonwoo’s back comfortingly. _More than you know._ “I’m not angry at you anymore. I forgave you.”

He felt Wonwoo shaking in his hold, crying softly. “I know, but—but I just, you know, you deserve the truth, and I was being so bad to you, I—” His words got lost in his sobs, but Mingyu didn’t mind.

“Wonwoo, I’m right here for you whenever anything happens, okay?” Mingyu reassured him, pulling away to cup his cheeks. He wiped away the tears on his cheeks. “Your anxiety isn’t you. I will never get upset at you if anything happens with your anxiety.”

Wonwoo looked up at him, his eyes slightly puffy already. He sniffed. “You’re too nice,” he replied, the corners of his lips curling up. “God forbid anything bad happens to you. You’re too good for this world.” He wiped his nose with his sleeve, shaking his head quickly. “God, that was… a lot,” he remarked, blinking the tears out of his eyes. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

Mingyu smiled fondly. “Dummy. You’re still cute when you cry,” he commented, reluctantly letting go of him. He leaned back on his palms as they both watched the waves, the sky starting to lighten as sunset approached.

“I haven’t told you about why I got it,” Wonwoo said. “But—”

“Hey, you tell me in your own time,” Mingyu interrupted. “I’m not gonna force you or anything. It’s your call.” He nudged him playfully. “Also, I don’t know if you remember, but you called me handsome. Really, really handsome. Handsome with two really’s in front of it. Just thought you should know.”

Wonwoo snorted derisively, rolling his eyes. “Do you have to rub it in?” he complained jokingly. “You called me cute, remember? We’re on even playing ground here.” He smiled softly. “… Thanks. For… being cool about this.”

Mingyu waved it off, shrugging slightly. “It’s not a big deal. I mean, it is a big deal, but… I wouldn’t unfriend you just because of you. It’s normal.”

“Yeah… Normal,” Wonwoo said, as if testing the concept. He yawned, rubbing his eyes. “Oh, right. It’s like, 5 am. We should probably get to bed.”

“Hey, it’s great outside. We can just sleep out here,” Mingyu said, lying down and putting an arm behind his head.

Wonwoo looked back at him, raising his eyebrows. “Really? We have a nice bed upstairs and you’d rather we sleep out here on the sand? You know how hard it is to get out of clothes?”

Mingyu huffed, tugging Wonwoo back down onto the sand with him. “C’mon, live a little.” Wonwoo groaned, settling in the sand anyway. “I wasn’t aware choosing to sleep on the beach instead of a comfy bed was considered living.”

They lay down in silence, but it was different than earlier, when they were back in the house. This time, it was nice. Comfortable. As if either one was just enjoying it. There wasn’t any tension, any nerves, nothing.

Mingyu watched the sky turn from black, to orange, to pink. He turned to tell Wonwoo that they should probably get going, but he found his hyung asleep, his face peaceful and blissful. As if a burden had been lifted—which it was.

He chuckled, fondly, lingering on his face for a few more seconds, before his eyes eventually closed, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave a kudos and a review! ; u ;


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